


Persona 5 Royal: Golden

by Theroonco



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Amnesia, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Dorks in Love, F/M, Mystery, Mystery Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Persona 3 References, Persona 3 Spoilers, Persona 5 Spoilers, Persona 5: The Royal, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Post-Persona 5, Post-Persona 5: The Royal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:48:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 110,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25032718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theroonco/pseuds/Theroonco
Summary: One year after the events of Royal, Kasumi visits Ren for Golden Week. However, things take a turn for the bizarre when the pair make a new friend in need of the Phantom Thieves' help.FULL ROYAL SPOILERS
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Kurusu Akira/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Persona 5 Protagonist/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi
Comments: 374
Kudos: 139





	1. Prologue

_Saturday, 28th April_

"And third place goes to...Sumire Yoshizawa!"

The crowd cheered as a red-haired girl stepped onto the winner's podium and bowed. One of the judges placed a bronze medal around her neck and shook her hand as she raised her head. She smiled at him, but anyone watching closely would realize the gesture was hollow.

* * *

It was evening by the time she got changed and left the venue, almost falling into Ren's arms when she did so, but the spring sun made it hard to tell. She was silent at first, but after a few minutes of walking she opened up to her boyfriend.

"I'm so sorry, Senpai. I worked so hard on creating an all-new performance too..."

"It's fine." Ren gave her shoulders a quick squeeze. "You looked amazing as ever. You still got onto the podium, right? You were in the top three of...how many girls were there, 20?"

She nodded and leaned on him. "But I could have been better, I just know it. I kept telling myself 'If there's one meet you have to nail, it's this one. You have to do this, Sumire!' and...I'm sorry."

"Maybe that's why," he chuckled. "You know I'm always going to love what you do, right?"

She blushed. "...I suppose I did make myself too nervous. But, Senpai! We're so close to your hometown, this _had_ to be my best performance yet! I..."

He squeezed her shoulders again. "Sumire, relax!"

She exhaled, then shook her head. "You're right. After all, we still have a whole week together. I can't wait!"

"That's the spirit!" Sumire was resting atop Ren's right shoulder: Morgana jumped out of his bag and onto his left. "Besides, there's always next time! Isn't that right, Sumire?"

She giggled. "Yes, Morgana-senpai!"

"It's good to see you smiling again," Ren bumped her forehead with his own, making her blush again. Before she could say anything though, the trio heard a long _clang_ and a woman groan.

Exchanging a quick glance, the couple broke into a run, Morgana holding onto his partner for dear life.

* * *

Ren let out an audible sigh when they turned the corner. The sound had just been a lady dropping her shopping bags. She was on her knees now, picking all her purchases up. Sumire ran up to her without prompting and grabbed the few soup cans that had rolled further away. Smiling at how quickly she had reacted, Ren joined them.

It took almost no time at all for Ren and Sumire to hand the woman the last of the runaways and he took the opportunity to study the new face more closely. She was a redhead like Sumire, but her hair was a duller shade, shorter and messier, though she also fashioned it in a ponytail. If he had to guess he'd say she was in her mid-twenties, and it was with a youthful sounding voice that she spoke:

"Thank you so much!"

"Not at all!" Sumire curtseyed. "Are you alright, ma'am?"

"Oh, of course, yes. Sorry to worry you, I just...got distracted!" She chuckled to herself.

"Do you need any help?" Ren reached for one of her hands, but she drew it - and more importantly, the bag in it - back.

"No, thank you. I'm fine, I promise! Besides, I just live two streets down. Oh!" She beamed. "Why don't you join me? If you have time, I'll make you some hot chocolate as thanks for helping me...or would I be interrupting something?" She looked from one to the other with a sly grin and winked. As expected, Sumire turned beet red.

"Wh-wh-what do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing at all. You're clearly a young couple in love and I wouldn't want to intrude on a date. Unless...you're _not_ a couple?"

"We are!" Sumire clapped her mouth shut at how loud she had replied. "I-I mean, we are. Ma'am. But...but we're just walking back to Senpai's home!"

"Oh, you're already that far along, are you?"

Even Ren blushed at this remark, but Sumire blurted out before he could interject. "I-I'm just staying there for a week. _W-w-with his family_! We'll be with this family the whole time!"

_Why is this stressing her out more than the gymnastics?_

Ren hid his chuckle behind a cough as he saw the sparkle in the older woman's eye. Something told him they'd get along just fine.

* * *

The walk to her home was as quick as the woman had said it'd be. Ren and Sumire had each insisted on carrying her bags, but she had refused. _"I may be older than you but I'm not_ old _just yet!"_ She'd snapped, laughing when the pair exchanged an embarrassed glance.

The house was a single-storied bungalow. Ren and Sumire were ushered into the living room, complete with a bay window facing the street as their host put her shopping away in the kitchen. They sat on a double-seater couch and Ren placed his bag on his lap so Morgana could pop his head out. They took in the warm breeze coming through the curtains.

"I didn't think this was how we'd start Golden Week."

"Technically Golden Week starts tomorrow."

Sumire nodded. "Not starting with Shōwa Day still feels weird though."

Ren shrugged. "A day off is a day off. And I've been looking forward to these ones for a while," he smirked. She turned away and played with her hair as their host entered with a tray with three cups of hot chocolate (Morgana ducked into his bag, only his head now visible through the open zipper).

"Enjoy!" She placed it on the coffee table in front of the pair and took the separate single-seater couch, a cup in hand. The young couple took one each and sipped.

"Wow..." Sumire's eyes glistened. "This is delicious! Thank you so much, uh..."

Sumire, Ren and Morgana exchanged glances and realised they still didn't know the woman's name.

The person in question noticed their unspoken question and smiled. "My name is Hanako. Hanako Yamada."

Sumire frowned for a moment, then shook her head and bowed from her seat. "Oh! Then thank you, Hanako-san. My name is Sumire, and this is Ren-senpai!"

Hanako nodded to both of them before replying. "Not at all, I don't get many guests, so you two being here is all the thanks I could ask for." She beamed at them and placed her empty cup back on the table.

"You don't get many guests, Yamada-san?"

"Oh, first names please, Ren-kun. And no, I'm afraid I don't." Hanako's smile wavered, but she waved her hand in the air and just like that it was back on her face. "But that's just because I don't have much to talk about. Now, how about you two? How long have you been dating?"

"Huh?! Why are you starting there?!"

Ren, Morgana and Hanako all shared a chuckle at Sumire's expense before the former began to talk. "Well, we transferred to the same school at the same time, but we really got talking a month later..."

Ren told Hanako about their meeting on the train, followed by the Inokashira cleanup event (skipping where and why it took place).

"So...she wanted to talk more with you? Just like that?" She smirked.

"Uh..." Ren chewed his lip, but felt Sumire's hand on his own. He looked at her and she took over.

"Um, I was going through...some issues...with my gymnastics. I really admired him standing up for me and I just thought 'Maybe if I spend some time with him, I'll gain some confidence in myself again!' and...that was how it started."

"Oh, so you were captivated by him right away?"

Sumire blushed, but nodded. "Yes, I suppose so. I-I wasn't _in love_ with him then, but I knew right away that he was special." She smiled at him. Now it was his turn to feel the warmth in his cheeks. He took a quick breath.

"How adorable!" Hanako leaned forward. "So? Go on, don't leave me hanging!"

Ren and Sumire exchanged glances. "Well, I don't know what else to say," the redhead continued. "Ren-senpai kept helping me as I tried to find different things I was good at and...somewhere along the way, I..." she blushed. Ren heard Hanako fake-swoon behind him as he gave his former kouhai a side hug.

"You fell hard, huh?" asked the older woman.

Sumire, still looking at the floor, nodded. "I remember going to the school festival with him. I was... _so_ happy that evening. It was...I think that was our first date," she giggled. "But it-it wasn't until January that I realised how I felt."

"Oh?"

Sumire nodded, but before she could continue, Ren patted her hand. "You don't have to tell this part of the story if you don't want to."

"Oh, is it bad? Sumire-chan, I don't mean to pry if it's - "

"No, it's fine." Sumire smiled at them both. "I...went through some bad things at the start of the next year and...Senpai was there with me every step of the way. _That's_ when I realised...you know." She hid her face as Hanako laughed.

"And what about you, Ren-kun? When did you realise you liked her?"

"Me? Oh, it was love at first sight."

" _Senpai?!_ " Sumire leaned as far back as she could and he laughed. "Is-is that true?!"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"That's not fair!" Both women looked at each other in surprise as they had spoken as one, then giggled - also in unison.

"Well, I always knew you were special too," Ren kissed Sumire's forehead and she buried her head in his chest, whining.

Hanako cackled. "Oh, this is the best day I've had in _years_ , I hope I had a childhood like yours!"

_Huh?_

Three pairs of surprised eyes met hers and Hanako froze mid-laugh. She pinched the bridge of her nose and chuckled, though all the humor had left her like air out of a balloon. "I don't suppose I can ask you to forget that last part?"

"Hanako-san, are you alright?" Ren leaned forward.

"Hmm? Yes. Yes, I'm fine."

"I don't mean to pry, but we'd be happy to listen if you need to get something off your chest." He looked at Sumire, who nodded back.

Hanako sighed and leaned back. "Well, I did basically pry into your lives, so it's only fair you learn about mine. What's left of it, anyway..."

"What do you - "

"Hanako-san, do you...have amnesia?"

Ren turned to Sumire and saw Morgana do the same from the corner of his eye. "How do you know that?"

"Um... _Good Morning, Japan_ did an interview with an amnesiac author a few years ago and he said that unidentified men and women were usually called Taro and Hanako Yamada."

"Oh..."

Hanako nodded. "She's right...oh! Now that I think about it, I remember reading somewhere that the director of that show is called Yoshizawa too, isn't he? Is he a relative of yours?"

Sumire nodded. "He's my father."

"Oh, how lovely! You must be pretty rich then."

"Hm?" The younger girl reeled back. "Oh no, it's nothing like - "

"I'm just teasing, you don't need to feel guilty!" Hanako laughed again before brushing a tear from her eye. "Well as I said, you're right. I only remember the last few years of my life, but that just means I have to live...three times as hard from now on, right?" She beamed, but Ren and Sumire struggled to smile back.

* * *

The girls moved onto small talk about Sumire's gymnastics career, but it was clear that whatever spark their conversation had held before had been lost. It was fortunate then, that the sky finally darkened as Sumire recounted the practice she'd done for her most recent meet, which gave Ren an excuse to get her attention. Hanako looked out the window when he did so and jumped to her feet.

"Oh! I didn't realise it'd gotten so late! Today was wonderful, but shoo! Shoo!"

The teens gave confused laughs at her choice of words, with Morgana mumbling "Just because I'm a cat," so only Ren could hear. He slung his bag over his shoulder and Sumire slung hers under her own as Hanako wrapped her in a tight hug. Sumire yelped.

"Ah, I'm sorry," Hanako pulled back, arms still around her. "I just don't have the chance to talk to such wonderful people every day. Good luck with your next meet, Sumire-chan!"

"Yes! Thank you!" They hugged again, Sumire returning the gesture this time, albeit still surprised at Hanako's strength. Seeing her eyes widen filled Ren with a dull sense of dread, but fortunately Hanako only held out her hand to him.

"You too, Ren-kun. College can be tricky, but I'm sure you'll have a much easier job than I did. You know, since you actually remember everything and have such a cute girlfriend cheering you on." Sumire blushed, but neither of them knew how to respond until Hanako winked, at which point Ren smiled.

"Thank you very much, Hanako-san." He took her hand.

_"?!"_

He yanked it out of her grip.

"Ren-kun?"

"Senpai?"

"Ow..." he shook his arm, still numb from the shock that had surged through it as time seemed to resume. "Sorry, just static electricity I think."

"That was quite the static then," Hanako got her own breathing under control and held her hand out again. Ren took it with a slight pause, but there was no problem this time.

"Yeah, sorry about that." He smiled. "Today was great, I hope you'll have us around again."

"Oh, I do too!"

* * *

Sumire bowed from in front of her house and Hanako saw them off from her doorstep, waving until they were out of sight. Ren kept flexing his fingers as they walked.

"Are you alright, Ren-senpai? She has a really tight grip, doesn't she?"

"She does, but it's not...actually, don't worry about it."

"Senpai?" Ren smiled and looked ahead. She relented and did the same a few seconds later. "Alright, I guess...oh?"

Sumire pointed ahead of them. Ren looked down to see an apple on the pavement.

"Do you think that fell out of her bag?"

"I think so. She did have a lot. Wait here, I'll go give it back to her." Sumire walked towards it.

"Should I come with you?"

"Oh, it's fine, Senpai," she smiled. "She's right around the corner, isn't she? You can just wait for me here."

Without waiting for a response, she took off, apple in hand. "She eats very healthily," Ren heard her mutter under her breath.

"Are you really okay?" Morgana stuck his head up once she was out of earshot.

"I wonder..."

* * *

By the time Sumire arrived, Hanako had already turned the lights in her living room on, but when she approached the front door she heard an odd sound coming from the open windows. A moment's pause before her curiosity won over, making her crouch and creep over to them. And freeze.

Hanako...

...was sobbing.

Sumire stumbled back, staring at the drawn curtains.

She placed the apple in front of the door.

Rang the bell.

And ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story has no direct relation to "A Suprise Summer Date." Apologies for those that were hoping for a sequel to that. I still want to wait until Scramble comes out so I can better incorporate it into canon.
> 
> That said, this story also follows a vaguely-canon perspective (so it can co-exist with the above). The only assumption made here is that the MetaNav (or some variant thereof) has returned and all the Thieves know about and can access it. Oh, also this story takes place a year after Royal's ending as stated in the summary, thus placing this in 2018. That's important to point out ASAP too. (The tidbit about Showa Day being moved is accurate to the year.)
> 
> This story is going to be much longer than A Surprise Summer Date, so I hope you'll be willing to give me more feedback than ever before. I haven't written something this big in almost six years!


	2. Chapter 1

_A dark green sky._

_Ren stood bathed in its dim light. He looked around. He was in a city he didn't realise._

_"Morgana? Sumire?"_

_Nothing._

_He began to walk._

_Everything took on a sickly glow, yet it was still too dark to make anything out. There were no people here, not even animals. Just tall buildings, looming over him as black shadows as he moved from one street to the next. He heard the sound of water - a river perhaps - and followed it until he reached a small clearing._

_"What the..."_

_Between two skyscrapers, he could make out a tower, larger than any he'd ever seen. It was a mess of other buildings, stacked one atop another at different angles. Some were warped, others had what looked like giant lights protruding from them._

_All he could do was gape._

He awoke.

* * *

_Sunday, 29th April_

Sumire had told Ren what she'd heard the previous day and both had decided to pay Hanako another visit. The older woman was surprised to see them but welcomed them in just as she had the day before, pouring out three cups of water for them. She didn't talk as much though, instead throwing them quick glances and looking away when either teen returned them. It occured to Ren that she would have known one or both of them had overheard her when she saw the apple outside her door and winced.

_If only Makoto were here to warn us..._

"Um..." said Sumire at last. "Hanako-san..." she petered off.

"Yes?"

"We...we brought something for you," she looked at Ren who gave her an encouraging nod then rummaged through her bag, pulling out a large box wrapped in cloth.

"Oh?" Hanako took it from her and opened it to reveal "...a bento box?"

"Yes. I like cooking, so I thought I could make you something. Senpai helped!" She beamed at him before looking back at the older woman. Hanako opened the box and was captivated at once by the range of smells that assailed her.

"Ah, this smells _delicious_!"

Sumire giggled, cheeks a faint pink. "Thank you so much! I made sure to add a lot of fruits, as well as eggs for protein. Senpai made the curry in the small box to the side there, it's really incredible and really tasty!"

Hanako opened the container and licked her lips. "I can tell! Oh wow..." She packaged everything up and placed it on the table, eyes watering. "Thank you so much! No one's ever made me lunch before..." She pressed a hand to her mouth as she sniffed. "I mean, not that I can say for sure," she tried and failed to laugh "but..." Tears began dripping down her face.

"Hanako-san..." Ren bit his lip, but Sumire crouched in front of her.

"Please don't cry, Hanako-san. We didn't mean to upset you! I'm sorry, I overheard you crying yesterday and wanted to do something to make up for it, but I just made you cry again...I'm so sorry..!"

"I knew it was you," Hanako murmured. Sumire froze, but she just chuckled. "Thank you so much, Sumire-chan." She gave the younger girl a hug and stood, pulling the fellow redhead up with her. "You have no idea how much this means to me..."

"...really?"

"Of course!" Hanako pulled back and brushed her cheeks dry. "I'm so happy right now. I was happy yesterday too, so please don't be sorry. These are just tears of joy," she added as they trailed down her face again.

"Oh!" Sumire felt something damp on her face. She touched it and found tears on her own features too. "Oh..." she repeated.

In a flash, both girls were sobbing and hugging each other tight.

Ren scratched his head, though he smiled at the sight.

Morgana popped his head out of Ren's bag. "I told you she'd like it."

"A cat?" Hanako pulled back from Sumire and looked in the direction of his voice. "...in your bag, Ren-kun? You know, I thought I saw it yesterday too, but..." she laughed. "You have such a strange boyfriend, Sumire-chan."

The younger girl blushed, but said nothing.

"Hey..!" Ren offered only that token resistance as his girlfriend sat next to him and Hanako crouched before his second partner-in-crime.

"Hello there, little...is it a boy or girl?" She looked at him.

"His name's Morgana."

"Ah, what a cute name."

"It's not _cute!_ "

"Ah, such a lively kitty," Hanako laughed and stroked his back.

" _Ah!_ "

Morgana seized up then sprang out of the bag, he crouched on the carpet, haunches raised as though he were about to pounce. A shocked Hanako backed away, looking down at his furious expression in horror.

"Oh, I-I'm so sorry! I-I always thought I was good with animals..."

A split second later, Morgana relaxed. His eyes widened as if in realization and he jumped forward, rubbing himself along Hanako's ankles, purring. Her expression softened.

"Oh...are you just uncomfortable around strangers, Morgana-chan?"

Ren and Sumire let out the breaths they didn't realize they'd been holding.

"...yeah," he offered. Morgana paused his apology nuzzles to give him a worried look.

* * *

With the situation defused, it only took a few minutes for Hanako to take her seat and fall into another conversation with Sumire. Ren and a still-fidgeting Morgana exchanged another glance before the former got to his feet.

"Hanako-san, may I use the restroom please?"

"Hm? Oh, of course. Just turn right and it's the second door on the left." She mimed the directions with her hand.

"Okay, thank you."

He left and Morgana followed, hearing Sumire telling Hanako that the cat always followed her Senpai wherever he went.

"I don't go _everywhere_ ," said cat muttered.

* * *

Ren leaned against the wall by the bathroom door, considering it far enough away from the women to be private.

"Are you okay, Morgana?"

"I...think so. I don't know what you felt yesterday, but ever since she touched me I've been...on edge."

"Hmm...you know, when Sumire said she was crying, I wondered if we could help her somehow - like with Futaba or some of the Mementos Requests. But if you're feeling off too, then there's definitely something deeper going on here. Does this mean she has a Palace?"

"Maybe, but I've never felt one this strongly before. There's more to this than just a Palace."

"How did Maruki's Palace feel to you?"

"Hm? Oh, we could see that from reality, remember? So we can't use that as a metric. I wonder if there's another Mementos here. There's a subway station nearby, right?"

"But why would touching her be what makes you feel strange?"

"Good point. Do you think this house has a basement?"

"I think it's too small to," Ren looked around. Houses of this size in this area were usually of the 'what you see is what you get' variety.

"Hm...well, our first port of call would be seeing if she at least has a Palace. We may be able to learn more from in there."

"True...let's make sure Sumire is okay with it, though."

"Yeah..."

* * *

Ren's return went unremarked upon other than a brief "That was fast" from Hanako and a "Welcome back, Senpai!" from Sumire. He sat back next to her and Morgana curled up at his feet as the conversation turned to the couple's plans for Golden Week.

"We're having a quiet week really," explained Ren. "We really just wanted Sumire to meet my parents and get to know the town - "

"For when you get married?"

" - right...wait, what?"

Ren blinked, but his reaction was nothing to Sumire's, who covered her face and let out a muffled scream. "Senpai?!"

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to - "

"So you _don't_ want to marry her?"

"I-I-Of course I..." Ren exhaled and facepalmed as he felt Sumire press her head into her knees.

 _So this is what it feels like for her, huh?_ He wondered as Hanako cackled at the sight of them.

"Oh, this is too much fun!" She wiped a tear from her eye, "I...I wonder if I ever had someone like you when I was your age." Everyone looked at her again as they had the day before and she groaned. "Ah, I ruined the mood again, didn't I?"

"It's alright, Hanako-san," Sumire smiled. "You can always go out and find someone now, can't you?"

Hanako returned her smile with a strained face. "I'm not so sure about that."

"Why not?"

"...I don't know." She sighed. "I just...woke up one day with no idea who I was or where I came from. It's...hard to find a place in life like that. Especially in high school where everyone else already has friendship groups. Don't get me wrong, I met some kind people there, but I was so busy relearning all the things I'd forgotten, going to hospital, going to the police...I sort of...skipped over the whole friendship and dating phase."

"I'm so sorry..." Sumire hugged her. Ren stood up and ushered them to the two-seater so she could rub Hanako's shoulders as she continued talking.

"You two are too kind," she smiled. "College was the same and I guess I just...gave up after the first year, so I just keep to myself now."

"You're always alone?" Sumire seemed close to tears.

"No, I see a doctor every so often, remember? And I like feeding the animals that you find here, so I still have _some_ company." She chuckled. "But I just find it easier to stay here as much as possible. It just feels...safer in here." Sumire hugged her again, but Hanako pushed her back. "You don't have to feel sorry for me. It's my fault for not getting used to it. I should have gotten over it by now, right?"

Her eyes widened when the younger girl grabbed her hands in her own. "No, you don't! It's so unfair!" She sniffed and Hanako patted her head with a small smile.

"Oh, you're so sweet, Sumire-chan..."

Sumire blushed and the two continued hugging. Ren took the seat formerly occupied by the older woman and thought. It had struck him as odd that a 20-something year old woman would have trouble carrying bags as she had yesterday and all she had to say about it was that she was "distracted". At first he thought she'd seen or heard something, but if she really was uncomfortable outdoors...maybe she'd panicked? Gotten too upset to concentrate?

* * *

It was lunchtime when the pair said goodbye to her. Hanako all but pleaded for them to eat with her, but they just smiled and shook their heads. After all, her lunch was her own; they didn't want to force her to cook anything for their sakes. They promised to visit soon though, which put a radiant smile on her face. The trio exchanged chat IDs and the couple left, Morgana atop Ren's shoulder. They walked as normal until reaching an alleyway at which point Ren grabbed Sumire's hand and spun her into it, sliding in after her.

"Senpai?!"

"What?" He noticed he was pinning her to the wall. "Oh, I'll kiss you later if you want - "

" _Senpai?!_ "

" - just listen."

He and Morgana recounted their conversation outside Hanako's bathroom (Ren had backed off to give Sumire room to breathe, though she didn't seem completely happy about _that_ either).

"So...you think she has a Palace?"

"It's possible. We were wondering if we should investigate."

"To steal her heart?"

"No," Morgana shook his head. "We may do that if she turns out to be a risk to herself or the people around her, but for now we really do just want to look around. Like with Madarame, remember him?"

"The artist?" Ren and the other Thieves had given her the gist of their past heists while she worked with them the previous year. "Yes, I remember. And if we're just looking around...I'm okay with that."

"Thank you," Ren smiled. "So it's unanimous." He took out his phone. "She prefers staying at home, so the first two keywords should be easy enough. 'Hanako Yamada' and 'Hanako Yamada's home'."

_Candidate found._

Morgana nodded. "Are you sure you're okay with this, Sumire?"

The girl looked down and back up to see Ren watching her too. "I am, I promise. If she's suffering, I want to help her."

Ren smiled again. "Happy to hear it," he rolled his shoulders. "Now we just need to know the distortion."

"Futaba was similar, remember?" asked Morgana.

"So you're saying the last word is...'tomb'?"

_Candidate not found._

Ren sagged with relief.

"Wait, Futaba-senpai thought her Palace was a _tomb_? What happened to her?!"

"Futaba was going through some...tough times," Ren explained. "But I don't think I can tell you if she hasn't yet."

"...you're right, I'm sorry, Senpai."

"It's fine, you were just worried about your friend," he smiled and she smiled back - albeit with pink cheeks. Chuckling he turned back to his phone. "She said she felt comfortable in there, right? And she's still able to go outside, so she wasn't as far gone as Futaba. Maybe we should take her at her word and assume her Palace is something positive?"

"Futaba-senpai...no," Sumire shook her head after hearing yet another tidbit about the other girl. "If it's something where she feels safe...could it be a 'safe room'?"

"...that's a no, I'm afraid." Ren looked up from the failure message on his phone. "That would have been interesting though, wouldn't it, Morgana?"

"Yeah. _Our_ Safe Rooms would still exist, but if her cognition was built around safety they'd probably be hard to tell apart from the other rooms."

"Yeah...so I guess it's a good thing it wasn't that. Any other suggestions?"

"If she feels safe there, why not a 'protective shell'?"

"Nope. Sorry, Mona."

"Um...how about 'shelter'? Or would that be too close to 'house' to count?"

_Candidate not found._

"For what it's worth," Morgana sighed, "'shelter' can mean more than a home, so I think it's still a valid distortion."

Wait. Shelter?

"That must be it!" Ren stood up straight.

"Senpai?"

"Maybe that's how we should look at this. She feels safe at home, right? Then that means her distortion may be about how the outside world is dangerous for her. Then doesn't that mean her house would become something specifically about protection or survival?"

"Oh, so it'd be some sort of safe haven, something completely different from everything around it?" Morgana cocked his head. "I think that might work!"

"Hmm..." Sumire tapped her chin. "So we're looking at it the other way around? Then her house is a safe zone in the middle of a hostile environment. So...if the outside world is something like a warzone - no, I don't think she _hates_ going out - maybe something like the Arctic? Or a desert? Then that means her house would be a 'camp', right? Or an 'oasis'?"

_Candidate found._

"I got it?!" Sumire blinked.

"Yes!" Ren laughed. "It was an 'oasis'! Great work, Sumire!" He held up his hand and Sumire, though blushing, high fived him.

"Great going Sumire," Morgana echoed. "You may not be an official Phantom Thief, but it's clear I've taught you well."

She giggled. "Yes! Thank you very much, Morgana-senpai!"

"Nyehehe..."

Ren let him have his moment of glory before looking around. "So, everyone ready to go now? We're just going to have a quick look around so there shouldn't be any fighting."

"Of course, Joker!"

"Yes, Senpai!"

"Okay then..."

He pressed the button and the world blurred.

* * *

Ren looked around. He and Sumire were still in their regular clothes, but Morgana had transformed. The app had taken them from the countryside and dropped them into a city, specifically the edge of a small park next to a large road.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"No clue," Ren tugged at a lock of his curly hair. "The Metaverse is metaphorical by nature, so I was expecting something more...abstract. Can you sense any Treasures, Mona?"

"Way ahead of you," the anthropomoprhic cat pointed ahead of them. "I can sense one, but it's incredibly faint."

"We'd better get moving then," Ren toyed with his hair. He was about to ask Morgana to transform into a car, but -

"Woah!"

A real car wooshed past him just as he approached the pavement.

"Senpai! Are you alright?"

"Yeah..." he exhaled. "What a jerk..."

"It's midday in the real world, if it's the same here it might mean a lot of workers are on break now," Morgana watched the car veer right at the junction at the end of the road.

"Wow, that's so realistic..."

"Hm? Oh yeah, you've only seen Maruki's Palace and Mementos before, haven't you Violet?" Sumire nodded to Morgana's question. "Then this'll be another learning experience for you." He paused as another car zoomed by. "Cognitions acting realistically usually means the Ruler has a good grasp of how people and society operate. Even though Hanako likes staying away from others, she must still be very observant."

Sumire nodded again. "I wonder if that means we can ask for directions. Treasures are usually kept somewhere important, right? Dr. Maruki's Treasure was at the very top of his Palace, Mementos' was at the very bottom..."

Ren frowned. "Perhaps. But keep in mind that cognitions are the Ruler's creations, so talking to them's a risk. Shido's ones were Shadows in disguise because he'd studied cognitive psience, but I doubt we need to worry about things going that far."

"Right. Mona-senpai, are you ready to fly?"

"Yeah!"

"What?"

Ren watched in confusion as instead of running into the road, Morgana ran into the centre of the grass and posed. He jumped, and -

"...oh, right. I forgot you can fly now."

"Joker! How could you?!"

\- transformed into a helicopter.

"Sorry, I'm just too used to seeing you as a car." He and Sumire ran up to and clambered into him. Ren looked at Morgana's dashboard and frowned. "Uh..."

"Oh, you don't need to touch anything when I'm a helicopter." Even as a vehicle Ren could hear his friend's smugness. "Just sit tight!"

The two humans did as they were told, strapping themselves in and sliding both doors shut as Morgana spun his propeller and they took off. It was his first time inside a helicopter, so Ren couldn't help marvel at the view outside.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

He turned to see Sumire beaming at him.

"Yeah."

He interlaced his fingers with hers and she blushed before leaning into his shoulder.

"Whatever happens, I hope we can help Hanako-san."

"Me too." He paused. "It may be difficult though, considering her distortion is probably from - "

" - her amnesia?"

"...yeah." If they changed her heart, Hanako-san would...what, be at peace with her memory loss? Just leaving it at that would leave a bad taste in his mouth, but they were in her head; surely they'd find _something_ about her past in here? He wrapped an arm around Sumire's shoulders. "Let's just keep our fingers crossed."

She nodded, her cheek rubbing against his shirt. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Morgana called out.

"Uh...guys, you should see this!"

"You found the Treasure?" Ren pulled Sumire to her feet after they unbuckled their harnesses.

"Not exactly, but...remember how her Palace is supposed to be an 'oasis'?"

"Yeah..?" _This doesn't sound good._

Despite already being up, he offered his hand to Sumire - for balance, no other reason - and the pair walked to Morgana's front window.

"No way..." Ren had to agree with his girlfriend. The city went as far as the sea, the coast forming a stretched out 'C' shape. From here however spanned two bridges. A suspension bridge reached out towards one small island while the second bridge - with what appeared to be train tracks atop it - led to a larger one. Morgana was heading for the latter.

"Don't tell me..."

"Yeah..." Morgana felt tired already and Ren could relate. "I hope I'm wrong but from what I'm feeling, I think Hanako's Palace is _that entire island_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments and kudos for Chapter 1, everyone! It means so much to me that everyone's so interested in my story already, thank you!! I hope it doesn't disappoint!


	3. Chapter 2

The trio could see people and vehicles moving about on the mainland beneath them, but not once did they see the train move during their flight over the tracks.

"That's odd," Ren muttered.

"Yeah," said Morgana. "If Hanako's cognition created a fully functioning city, you'd expect the train to move too. I wonder what that says about the island..."

Once they reached said island they spotted an open square in front of its train station, but as Morgana descended Sumire pointed to the ground.

"Look out!"

Ren looked out the window.

"Shadows already?!" He heard their helicopter cry.

They took the form of puddles of black sludge with arms sliding around the ground. Morgana chose to hover above the roof of the station instead, letting Ren and Sumire jump out before turning back into his humanoid form. The humans were consumed by blue flame as soon as they touched down, revealing their Thief attires. They looked out at the swarm below. Now that they got a closer look, Ren could see that their faces were actually small blue masks, similar to those the guards in Kamoshida's Palace had worn.

"Shadows already..." Ren repeated, taking a knee at the edge of their perch.

"I don't understand," Sumire adopting his pose. "Why are there Shadows here already? Even in Mementos the entrance was safe, right?"

"I said this entire island was a Palace..." Morgana folded his arms. "There must not be a proper 'entrance' to this place then; once you're in, you're in. What's the plan, Joker?"

 _They look small, but there are a lot of them._ He looked around. There were filled bicycle racks along the sides of the square, but no other buildings nearby. There was an empty bus stop on the road at the other end of the space beside which was parked a motorbike, the black antenna of the radio attached to its back contrasting with its white paintjob, but the area held no signs of life around for them to study for clues beyond the Shadows themselves.

"We go in hard and fast," he said at last. "Don't underestimate them, but if we're quick we'll at least be able to break through before anything serious happens. What do you think?"

Both of his teammates nodded.

"Okay then, let's move!"

Ren jumped down. Every last Shadow whipped around to face him at once.

_That was faster than expected._

He braced himself as his allies landed on either side of him, but instead of charging at _them_ the Shadows charged at each other, pooling in the centre of the square, black fog spewing from them as their combined form grew in height.

"Morgana-senpai..?"

"I don't know what's happening either!"

With a final burst of black mist, the Shadows' combined form revealed itself. It took the shape of a masked woman in a white gown, standing atop a bouquet of flowers held together by an iron railing. It stared at them.

"Joker-senpai, what do we do?"

"We're just here for recon Joker, we may want to head back. This thing looks tough!"

"No, there's no guarantee that the next place we land won't also have something like this. Let's take it out."

"Joker-senpai...right!"

"You got it, Joker!"

He matched their grins with one of his own. As though sensing their determination, the Shadow wailed.

And exploded into more black fog.

The three Thieves braced as the fog swirled around itself once more, this time forming a shape lower to the ground but much wider. For the second time in less than a minute it solidified, this time into an angular, black and blue three-headed dog with tridents for feet and small metal wings fixed to its shoulders.

It roared and charged them. They rolled to each side and it swerved, turning to face them again. Its middle head howled as its right and left heads spewed black and red energy at Sumire and Morgana respectively. Morgana tanked the hit, but Sumire was blasted back. Ren made to run towards her but caught the middle head's yellow eyes glowing red from the corner of his own. Pins formed in the air and flew towards him. He spun out of the way and heard them shatter into the ground where he stood.

 _Okay,_ he took note of which Elements it had just used.

"Violet, are you okay?" But she was already up by the time he reached her.

"I'm fine, Senpai!" She held a hand to her mask. "That was a Curse attack, right?"

"Right. It used Fire against Mona and Curse against me too, so let's try hitting it with Bless and Ice Skills."

"Way ahead of you, Ella!" Sumire's Persona, the shining white Princess, appeared behind her and danced, throwing her bouquet over her shoulders. It exploded in a burst of white light and the cerberus reeled.

"Perfect! Now it's your turn, Black Frost!" A giant black creature appeared behind him and summoned what could only be described as a tree of ice before the Shadow that exploded. It stumbled, then again as Morgana hit it with a surge of wind from opposite them, but it shook both hits off like they were nothing.

"Okay then. Violet, you take point - "

"What?"

" - Mona, keep us healed!"

"On it!" The cat jumped back and filled the humans with renewed vigor as Ren touched his face again. "Vohu Manah!"

The ultimate Persona of the Councillor Arcana appeared before him as the Shadow spewed more black energy at them, blocking the attack. "Violet!"

"On it! Ella!"

Ella's bouquet reformed and she threw it again, another explosion of light followed and the beast staggered. It's middle head howled...

"Oh no, you don't!"

Ren ran towards it, blocking the needles thrown at Sumire with Vohu Manah, and swung his knife at the head. It bit down it hard, but he used his momentum to swing up. He let go of his weapon and wrapped himself around the head.

"Senpai!"

"It's fine, now both of you hit it with everything you've got, Vohu Manah's immune!"

"...right!"

Morgana sent a second storm his way. The beast brace itself against the wind and Ren winced, thankful he'd properly invested in his Persona to remove its weakness against the Element. With its back turned, it could do nothing to prevent the third blast of Bless power detonating above its spine. It fell to the floor and Ren jumped off, retrieving his knife and stabbing the middle head in the neck.

"Violet, now!"

"Let's _dance,_ Ella!"

Ella spun in a brief yet elaborate performance, slashing the prone dog with her legs multiple times before kicking it left head hard. Then its right head.

It roared from both, barely able to raise all three before it slumped one last time, shattering into shards of light that pooled into a floating orb.

"What the..."

"Joker, that looks like a Treasure bud! You know, like in Mementos!"

"Yeah..."

He swiped at the strange light and felt something solid and sharp form in his hand. He looked at it.

It was a blue crystal shard. Actually, it seemed to have some sort of circuitry inside...

Sumire approached and Morgana jumped on his shoulder so they could see it too.

"It looks so pretty!"

"Yeah, but what _is_ it?"

"Hmm. From a certain angle it almost looks like a feather..." Joker shrugged and tucked it into his chest pocket. "Whatever it is, it'll probably be important for - "

The ground shook and they heard a strange whirring from further away.

"Senpai? That doesn't sound good..."

"Hold on, I'll check!" Morgana backed away, turned into a helicopter and flew up for a few seconds, only to descend almost immediately. "Guys, get on! _Right now!_ "

"Huh? Mo - " Sumire was cut off by her own spluttering as Ren grabbed her around the waist and grappled up to Morgana's opened door, tossing her inside through their momentum before swinging himself in. The couple looked out before he slid it shut.

" _Tanks?!_ " They shouted as one.

A mass of red and blue tanks flooded into the space they'd just left, though both types had bright yellow access ports. Ren hoped they wouldn't think to look up...

"Joker, we should probably leave for today."

"Right." Ren closed the door and sat on the floor, legs outstretched as he felt the helicopter rise. "What do you think, Violet?"

She sat beside him, holding her knees. "Well, we didn't really learn anything, but...this is insane. If she has a Palace this big, then I definitely want to know why."

"I'm glad you agree," he nodded with a smile. "Then I guess we have our next target. Right, Mona?"

"You got it, Joker! The Phantom Thieves are back in action!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter this time, but it did everything I needed it to. The next will be longer! Also, a lot of people have been discussing Hanako's name. There's nothing clever here, I'm afraid; according to my research it's simply the Japanese equivalent of Jane Doe :P Hope this clears things up for you and as always, thank you so much for your support! I'm loving all the speculation too, it makes me so happy to read through it all!


	4. Chapter 3

_Monday, 30th April_

"..."

"Sumire?"

"...yes, Senpai?" The red-head jumped and handed Ren the box of painkillers she was holding. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine." He dropped it onto the small pile forming in his handbasket. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"...I'm sorry. I know we talked about it, but I still - "

" - feel guilty?"

"...yeah."

"...me too." Ren gave his girlfriend a side hug. "But we already agreed to see her in the evening, didn't we?" He smiled...and eventually, she smiled too.

"Yeah..."

He squeezed her shoulder. They would be infilitrating Hanako's Palace in the afternoon, so wouldn't have time to visit her right away. Hanako didn't seem too fussed when they messaged her about it, but...

He shook his head. He couldn't be wrapped up in such thoughts too. The couple walked up to the till of the drugstore where the clerk gave the two a suspicious look as he sorted through their shopping but looked ashamed once he scanned the last item. Ren handed him his money with a small grin, trying not to let his embarrassment show.

"Dr. Takemi's stuff is much better," he muttered, looking into his shopping bag once they left the store. The Amamiya household was running low on plasters and cold tablets so he had volunteered to make the trip while also buying supplies for their otherworld activities. He'd done what preparation he could overnight, but nothing could beat honest-to-goodness medicine.

"Senpai, do you think we have time to call the others?" The pair started to walk.

"Hmm...they'll all be busy," he thought aloud. "Most of them wouldn't be able to help even if they wanted to, I think."

"Yeah," now that they were outside, Morgana popped his head out of Ren's bag. "I think we should see how far we can get. We'll call them if things get too rough."

"My thoughts exactly," the boy nodded.

"Alright, then." So did the girl.

* * *

The square outside the Palace's train station was empty, so Morgana could touch down on solid ground this time. The humans jumped out of him and looked at each other.

"Should we...look around, Senpai?"

Ren touched his chest pocket. "...yeah."

"What's wrong, Senpai?"

"That crystal from yesterday's disappeared..."

"What?"

"Really?" Morgana crossed his arms. "I still sense its presence from you. Maybe it'll only appear when we need it?"

Ren frowned, but had no choice but to shrug. "I guess we'll find out. For now, let's see what we can see." He walked to the street and the others followed him. They walked through the vacant streets, Ren grappling to the occasional rooftop to get a better view of the terrain.

"Nothing?" Morgana asked, losing count of how many times he'd done so.

Ren shook his head and the cat groaned.

* * *

A few minutes later, they passed through an alleyway between two towering apartment blocks into what looked like a giant garden for the complex, complete with a rusted swing set and slide. They walked through it, looking all around them, but had only walked halfway across the park before the heard a rumble low enough to make the earth quiver.

The trio backed up, forming a triangle as they scanned their surroundings.

"There!" Sumire pointed a path opposite the one they'd just used. A bright red tank trundled into the clearing and rolled straight ahead, not seeing them.

"Joker, what's the plan?"

"This is the only lead we've gotten so far. Hopefully it has something we can use." He adjusted his glove and ran forward, hearing two pairs of footsteps behind him. He couldn't ask for more reliable teammates. The tank still hadn't noticed them - perhaps it was too loud for its own good - so once he was close enough he spun and threw his grapple out, hooking onto its access port and flying onto it.

The port was a bright yellow, just as he remembered from the day before. He slid his fingertips beneath it and pulled. This was a Shadow, so this had to be its mask!

...but it didn't budge.

"What the..."

He kept pulling, but all he accomplished was the tank noticing his presence. It swung its barrel from side to side, he held on as long as he could, but at last he slid to one side and the barrel caught his flank and sent him flying. He rolled into a heap on the grass.

"Senpai!"

"Joker!"

He pushed himself to his feet, coughing. The tank bore down on them. "Sorry, you two," he spluttered.

"It's fine," they said as one as they braced for battle.

_I really don't deserve you two._

He pulled his knife out. The tank raised its barrel and fired. The trio rolled out of the way but stumbled as ground where they'd stood detonated in a ball of flame.

_That plus the red coloring..._

"Black Frost!" The black fiend appeared behind him again and sprouted a mess of icy vines around the tank. They exploded and the machine shook, but it didn't seem hurt at all.

_I was so sure that would work..._

"Diego!"

Morgana's Persona sent a blast of wind towards the tank, strong enough to raise it for a moment before it landed with a _thud_. The metal of its body seemed to bend a little, as the barrel sagged.

"Mona, it's weak to Wind! Keep at it!"

"Way to go, Mona-senpai!"

"Ha!" Morgana rubbed his nose. Ren looked back at their foe as it prepared another attack. They knew it was weak to Wind, but he'd seen a ton of these things before. It would be best to learn at least one other weakness they could exploit. He dodged the second cannonball.

_It's a machine, so..._

"Thor!" A large man with a mask and hammer appeared next and struck the tank with Electricity. It staggered and collapsed, barrel shaking to and fro.

"It's almost done. Violet!"

"On it!"

Ella appeared and threw its bouquet at their foe, shattering it with a blast of Bless energy. Oddly poetic for a tank.

But the three of them barely had enough time to breathe before they heard further rumbling from all directions. One, two, three...six tanks rolled in from the various paths leading to the open space, two even bursting through small alleyways to do so.

"Joker!"

"Everyone, to me!"

Ren grabbed Sumire around the waist and felt Morgana grab his ankle as he threw his grapple out. It latched onto the roof of one of the apartments and he pulled them up just as the newcomers started to fan out. The three watched the tanks look for them from their new vantage point as they caught their breath.

"We were too loud," Ren cursed under his breath. "Sorry again, you two."

"That's alright, Senpai. I wish we'd learned something though."

"Yeah - "

"You two!" Morgana pointed and the humans looked down to see...

"What is _that_?"

Ren felt the same as his girlfriend. A seventh tank had just arrived, only this one was somehow both more realistic yet ridiculous looking than those around it. The main body looked much more like a real tank, with dull brown paint and headlights, moving around on four caterpillar tracks. However, instead of having an access port, the tank instead had what looked like a toy soldier poking its head out from inside, its head resting just above its cannon.

"Joker, I'm getting a strong reading from that one, but it's...weird somehow..."

"How do you mean?"

"I don't know! It's...confusing, my head hurts just looking at it!"

"Then don't," Ren put a hand on his friend's head. "We'll take this one step at a time. You said it looks strong, right? Does that make it important enough to have something we need?"

"It's a better lead than any of the smaller tanks."

Ren nodded. "Then we're destroying it."

"Senpai, but the red ones - "

"I've got a plan."

* * *

He explained it, but as expected Sumire clapped her hands over her mouth. "Senpai, you can't be serious!"

"I am. I'll be safe, I promise. But this is our best bet right now, don't you agree?"

"...that's true...but if we wait - "

" - there may be more of them."

She bit her lip.

"Violet, you can trust him. He's Joker, after all."

She looked at Morgana and smiled. "I know." Now she turned to Ren and nodded. "Alright."

"...just like that?"

She gave him a much smaller smile than she did Morgana, even with her mask he could tell her cheeks had turned pink. "I trust you to do anything, Senpai...you're my Senpai after all!" She giggled. "But it's still my job to worry about you, isn't it?"

Ren chucked and kissed her forehead. She squeaked but leaned in as he wrapped his arms around her. "Just don't worry _too_ much." He stood up and gave the two a warm smile. "Stay safe, alright?"

"We should be telling you that!" Morgana snapped, to which his smile morphed into a familiar smirk.

"True enough. It's Showtime!"

Without any warning he leapt from the roof, falling half the way down before turning back and shooting his hook out, catching onto the roof of the adjacent building and swinging in a wide arc, landing in front of one of the wider roads leading away from the garden-turned-park.

"Eyes on me, fellas...Odin!" The one-eyed father of his previous Persona appeared and spun his spear. The skies darkened and lightning shot down from the newly formed clouds, striking all seven tanks. Seven barrels turned to face him and he grinned, firing his grapple and soaring to another rooftop before hopping out of sight. The six smaller tanks chased after him at once as the seventh watched.

This lag was the crux of their plan.

Sumire and Morgana jumped off their rooftop, the former firing her own grapple to slow their descent before grabbing her mask.

"Ella!"

Her beautiful Persona appeared and threw her bouquet at the large tank, but the explosion that destroyed the smaller one didn't even register for this one as it started rolling to where her boyfriend had just disappeared.

"No!"

"Oh no, you don't!"

Diego sent another flurry of wind towards the tank. This didn't knock it down as it did to their previous opponent but it still got the tank's attention. It pivoted and stared down at them. Sumire in turn looked behind it as the last of the scarlet tanks disappeared from view.

_Senpai was right..._

Her Ren-senpai had suspected the large tank had taken longer to arrive because it had the luxury of being the one in charge: it would always send the small fry ahead of it. He then reasoned that if he lured the smaller ones away, it would give her and Morgana-senpai a few moments to get the giant's and _only_ the giant's attention.

The tank fired. She pirouetted away.

_You'd better come back soon, Senpai..._

"Mona-senpai!"

"On it!"

Diego sent a second hurricane towards the tank and Sumire took the opportunity to dash behind it. She called her Persona again and she appeared, spinning in circles before slashing the tank's metal shell with two fierce kicks. It staggered before turning its barrel to face her, the strange doll somehow seeming furious despite its face being hidden behind a mask. The tank reversed towards her and she rolled out of the way, struggling to stand as the ground trembled in the machine's wake. She forced herself up by stabbing her rapier into the earth and pushing against it before pulling out her rifle and firing into its front. Her bullets left small dents in its frame and shattered one of its lights, but it was obvious they weren't doing any real damage. With her Bless Attacks useless too, all she had left were her Physical skills.

_We need Senpai back! We need his versatility..._

* * *

Sumire and Morgana adopted a hit-and-run approach without even needing words. Diego would distract the tank with wind and Ella would strike it with kicks or ethereal blades. Other times, Morgana would summon a barrage of fists down on it as Sumire strengthened him. Both also healed each other as their Physical skills wore down on them.

This time, Morgana healed them both. "Ready, Violet?"

"Ready!"

She rushed forward, hand on her mask. The tank fired at her but Morgana's Wind abilities blew the giant bullet off-course. She ripped her mask away and Ella appeared, surrounding the tank with thin swords that slashed down, filling its body with thin gashes. Sumire panted as both Ella and the blades faded, leaving lingering trails of light in their wake. The toy soldier seemed to mock her efforts.

Lightning struck.

Sumire felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end as the tank just _stood_ there, letting Electricity surge through it. The storm ended and the cannon spun around, singed but no worse for wear to face -

"Senpai!"

Ren ran forward, mask reforming as she saw Odin fading into thin air. He threw his grapple out and latched onto the soldier, soaring onto it. He grabbed onto it with one hand and stabbed his knife through one of its eyes with the other. Sumire heard a metallic screech and suddenly -

\- the soldier flew away from the tank's body, taking Ren with it.

" _Senpai_!"

Ren dangled in the air, pulling at his knife with one hand and pushing away from the soldier - now carrying the tank's barrel - with the other before he finally came free. He fell, but spun in the air and landed on his feet, bending a knee to soften the impact. The trio heard a brief whirring before the barrel opened fire, this time spraying bullets like a rifle. Ren backflipped away to where Sumire and Morgana were waiting. The soldier flew down, hovering at head height as the tank's body stood up, its treads adjusting to form limbs, revealing a square face on its underside, bright yellow with a toothy grin scribbled on as though by a child.

"So...what next?" Morgana panted.

As if on cue, the now separated Shadow burst into two clouds of black fog before reforming. The tank turned into what looked like a floating rocket - no, a lance? - in a dull, blue dress, with a Grecian-style helmet extending from the back of the dress to where a human's head would be. The toy soldier, who had so far been the size of a toddler, ballooned outward, now becoming a black humanoid almost as tall as both Ren and Sumire combined. The bizarre thing about it though was the giant serrated disk that whirled around it, attached to the body by cutting through its head and pelvis.

The two new Shadows stared at them before letting loose two deafening, metallic screeches. The Thieves looked at each other. Ren bit his lip.

_Now what?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Apologies for the longer-than-normal wait. I just wanted a little time to consolidate my plans for the full story. I hope you like this chapter - as always, please let me know what you think, I love hearing from you!


	5. Chapter 4

The wheeled Shadow shot towards Sumire and Morgana as the Grecian one charged at Ren. All three dodged, though Ren couldn't help stare as Sumire came out of her cartwheel.

_So graceful..._

He shook his head as he heard a faint whirring behind him. He turned to see the Shadow's gears grinding before shockwaves burst from it, surging towards him. He touched his mask. "Fafnir!"

The blue dragon Persona appeared and coiled itself around him. The shockwaves bounced off its body, further cracking the earth around them but leaving Ren completely untouched.

* * *

Meanwhile, the wheel of the black Shadow spun and shot out swirling waves through the air. Sumire and Morgana braced as the energy crashed around them and felt a sudden pressure in their minds. _It's using Psychic attacks!_ She realised, clutching her face as soon as the attack ended. "Ella!"

The shining Persona materialized and threw her bouquet at the Shadow. It detonated in a flash of white light but the black figure barely flinched. "No..!"

"Don't worry, Violet!" Morgana ran to stand beside her as his own Persona emerged out of the ether and slashed its sword. Wind energy, discernable only through the faint green flashes left in its wake, buffeted their foe. It took a few steps back. Its wheel spun and it fired a single yet wide wave of orange energy. Both Thieves spun in opposite directions. Sumire hissed as the attack nicked her side and touched her mask again. Her Persona appeared once more and charged at their foe, energy gathering in her legs before kicking it once, twice. The Shadow staggered as Ella disappeared. Its wheel span even faster as if to demonstrate its rage as it spat out a volley of psychic waves.

* * *

"Thor!"

The muscular Persona summoned a giant, golden fist above its head and fired it at Ren's opponent. It tilted its head skyward and caught the attack on the underside of its body, sliding back from the impact but otherwise appearing none the worse for wear. The tip of its spear glowed blue before it shot out rays of Nuclear energy. Ren took cover behind Fafnir again and felt his Persona absorb the attack. He looked back. Sumire and Morgana were fighting the second Shadow and dealing heavy damage, but it didn't seem like they could exploit any of its weaknesses. He had faith in their skills, but...

He looked back at his own opponent, whose gears were whirring again. It had appeared from a tank, so maybe...

"Odin!"

The lead god of the Aesir appeared now and raised his spear. A giant replica of it struck the ground in front of the Shadow and attracted a massive surge of Electricity around it. It shuddered, gears grinding to a halt as it crashed to the ground. Ren nodded at the sight and ran to where his friends were still fighting, holding his face as he went.

"Fafnir!"

The dragon appeared once again and summoned a massive orb of Nuclear energy beneath the Shadow. It detonated and the Shadow slid back, cancelling the attack it had been charging up. Sumire and Morgana turned to look at the newcomer, faces relaxing as they saw him.

"Senpai, you're here! My Bless attacks aren't doing much to it!"

"Leave it to me," he turned to Morgana and put his hand into his pocket. "Mona, that one's weak to Electricity but resistant to Physical attacks." The wheeled Shadow sent a vertical shockwave at them but they all dodged out of its path. "Take these!" He tossed a small bag at the cat who caught it and looked inside.

"Did you make all these?"

"Of course!"

Morgana grinned. "That's the leader of the Phantom Thieves for you!"

Joker smirked as Morgana jumped. They high-fived before the cat ran towards the now alert former tank, putting his hand into Joker's bag and pulling out a miniature stun gun. He fired and the Shadow recoiled immediately. Meanwhile Ren and Sumire dodged another shockwave from the black Shadow and braced themselves for a fight.

_If it resists Bless attacks..._

"Arsene!"

Joker's first Persona appeared and raised its hand, summoning an Orb of Curse energy. It threw the Orb at their adversary. The attack hit it head on as it charged. It stumbled forward, touching the earth for the first time as it sank to its knees.

"You got this, Violet?" He raised his hand.

"Of course, Joker-senpai!" She high-fived him and ran forward, a huge smile on her face. "Ella!"

Her Persona appeared and soared towards the Shadow, energy gathering in her body once more before she spun on the spot in front of it, kicking it into the air. Ella spun again as it reached chest height and flipped, kicking it a second time straight into the grass where it landed with an earth-shaking bang, its disc shattering.

"Violet..!"

"I'm sorry!" She turned to him, face red. "I'm sorry, I was so happy we could work together that I got a little carried away...I'm sorry!" She turned back to the battle and mentally willed Ella to pick up a broken piece of the serrated disk. Just as the Shadow pulled itself to its feet, Ella spun once more and dug its own weapon deep into its neck. Ren watched, jaw hanging open as - with a quick burst of additional effort - Ella pushed the disk fragment the rest of the way through their foe. The headless Shadow stood still for a moment...before falling forward, slamming into the earth one final time. Sumire gave Ren an embarrassed shrug to which he could only smile before looking to their feline companion, who was attacking with a mix of small Electrical blasts and large gusts of wind. He and Sumire ran to join him as Morgana launched one of the latter, throwing the now-scarred Shadow into the air.

"Oh, Joker! Wanna do the honors?"

"Right!" Ren clutched his mask and called Odin again, who threw one more replica of his trusted lance into the earth beneath the Shadow and charged it with lightning. The Electricity shot upwards, blasting a hole through the mechanical spear-Shadow and it exploded. All three Thieves sighed with relief, but tensed as the fragments coalesced again, this time turning white.

Ren gaped for a moment before Sumire tapped his shoulder and pointed at the now-headless Shadow, which had also turned into white mist. Both clouds flowed towards each other, mixing at a point in the air exactly in the midpoint of where each had died before their combined form - a familiar glowing, white sphere - gently lowered to chest height. The Thieves walked over and Ren swiped it out of the air, feeling it solidify in his grip. He open his palm and angled it downward so Morgana could also see.

"Uh...Joker? What is that?"

It was a thin cylinder with curved ends, like a stretched out pill, with an LCD screen. Ren looked it over. "I...think it's an MP3 player..."

"Yeah, that's what it looks like to me too," offered Sumire. "But...why? The thing we got last time was so weird, but this is the exact opposite! It's so..." she trailed off.

"...mundane, yeah." He nodded. "I suppose we'll have to wait to find out what this is for too." He tucked it into his chest pocket, then felt it from the outside. "Oh!"

"Has it disappeared again?" Morgana folded his arms.

"Yeah. The crystal from yesterday probably disappeared right away too, I just didn't realise because of the tanks."

"Ah!" Sumire yelped, causing the two boys to jump. "The tanks! Joker-senpai, what happened to the tanks that were chasing you?"

"...huh." He looked around. "I would have expected them to have caught up by now actually." He toyed with his hair. "Maybe they were far enough away that they reset to their original patrol routes or something," he shrugged. "Like NPCs in an old video game. They didn't seem that bright to be honest, but..." he rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath. "I think we could use a break. That fight took a lot longer than I thought it would."

"Yeah," Sumire nodded as she hugged herself. "It was much tougher than that dog Shadow we fought at the station too. Senpais...do you think it's time for us to call the others?"

Ren and Morgana looked at each other. The latter nodded. Ren returned the gesture and turned to his girlfriend, taking a second deep breath.

"...yeah, let's do it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter, but this should be the last one of those for a while. Thank you all so much for your continued support!


	6. Chapter 5

Ren awoke to a familiar blue ceiling.

"Makes sense," he thought to himself as he pivoted on his now hard mattress, planting his bare feet on the cold floor beneath him. He looked down to see he was in his pyjamas. Only once before had he been in the Velvet Room in these...

"You're awake, my Trickster."

He turned at the familiar voice to see Lavenza waiting outside his open cell door. He walked over to her and looked around. Igor's desk was present in the centre of the room, but his chair was empty. He turned to the little girl.

"What's wrong?"

Lavenza looked away. Ren frowned and got on one knee. Caroline and Justine hated being looked down on and despite Lavenza being kinder to him he'd always assumed she'd feel the same way, but something about her expression made him want to comfort her. "Lavenza..?"

"Trickster...do you truly intend to infiltrate this Palace?"

"...what?"

"This Palace...is not like the others you've overcome in the past. Please Trickster, I beg of you, turn back." She flashed him a sad smile. "I know how resolute you and your fellow Thieves can be, but please abandon this course of action."

"...why?"

Lavenza looked away again. "I...I cannot say."

"What do you mean?"

She bowed. "Please forgive me, but it's...not my explanation to give. I can only beg you to turn back. I know you're determined to steal this Palace's Treasure enough that you've even asked for your friends' aid, but please..."

Ren toyed with his hair. He looked around and the empty desk again caught his eye. "...did Igor ask you to warn me?"

Lavenza froze for an instant before shaking her head. "No. You may consider this a...personal request."

"I see..." Silence filled the mystical room for a few seconds before Ren stood. "Lavenza, thank you so much for everything you've done for us, but I'm afraid I can't just abandon someone in need. Are you sure you can't tell me why I should?"

Lavenza's gaze dropped to her feet. "...I'm sorry."

"Then I'm sorry too."

She looked at him. "I see...and nothing I say can change your mind?"

"I'm afraid not. We'll even fight you again for the right to change Hanako-san's heart, if we have to."

To this Lavenza gave him a sad smile and shook her head. "I could never fight you with such intent, my Trickster..." she took a short breath. "I would ask you to reconsider, but I know what your answer would be. So...I wish you luck. Just...please remember what I said here today. Can you at least promise me that much?"

"Of course."

Lavenza bowed again. "Thank you. I am sorry for interrupting your slumber with such negative thoughts. Please rest. You will have to wake up soon."

"...right."

Ren sat on the bed again. He and Lavenza shared one last glance, both giving each other the same strained smile, before he lay down and closed his eyes.

* * *

_Tuesday, 1st May_

"Lady Lavenza said all that, huh?"

Ren, Sumire and Morgana were sitting on a bench in a small park a few streets away from Hanako's house after calling their friends the previous night. Only half had been able to make it and even then they would only arrive tomorrow, so today the trio had chosen to relax and spend time with Hanako.

"Yeah..." Ren leaned forward, hands clasped together as they watched the children playing before them. Sumire did the same.

"Lavenza-san doesn't like us going to Hanako-san's Palace..?"

Ren smiled and squeezed her hands. "You really want to do this, huh?" Sumire blushed and tried to pull away, but Morgana piped up from Ren's left.

"There's nothing wrong with that, you know."

"He's right," continued Ren. "More motivation is only going to make things easier for us." Sumire looked at him and he nodded. She relaxed.

"Thank you, Ren-senpai. Morgana-senpai."

"Hey, I was the one who said it first, why are you thanking me last?!"

* * *

The first thing Sumire did once Hanako opened the door for them was bow and apologize for being too tired to visit her the previous evening, to which Hanako could only laugh.

"A young couple too tired to visit me, huh? I wonder why..."

Sumire turned red as expected and Ren could only wince and rub his forehead as Hanako laughed and ushered them into the living room. She sat them down, Sumire's face still bright pink.

"So? Tell me, what do you two have planned for today?"

Ren and Sumire looked at each other before the former answered. "Nothing, really."

"Ohhh!" Hanako pressed her hands to her cheeks. "So you chose to spend your day on me? That's soo sweet! Oh, then you _have_ to stay for lunch today!"

Ren shook his head and Sumire raised her hands. "Oh, please don't say that, Hanako-san! We couldn't possibly - "

"You just said you don't have anything planned, didn't you?" Hanako raised an eyebrow and Sumire fell silent. "Besides, I bought extra yesterday just in case you two stopped by, so you won't be imposing on me at all!" Sumire and Ren looked at each other. The former's stomach growled. She blushed and her Senpai sighed. Hanako continued, a victorious grin on her face. "And I even bought some premium cat food for Morga~na!"

Morgana poked his head out of Ren's bag. "Ooh!"

The three humans laughed at his slip up and the cat responded by hissing at Ren. Ren was about to respond but Sumire stood up. "If we're staying Hanako-san, then please let me help you with the cooking."

"What? I can't let you do that, you're my guests!"

"Please, Hanako-san, I insist. I love cooking!"

"...are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Hmm..."

Hanako raised an eyebrow and stared at Sumire. It only took a few seconds for the latter to turn beet red and half-shout "I'm telling the truth!" Hanako laughed.

"Oh I believe you, I'm just having some fun." She stood up too. "Actually, I've don't think I've ever cooked for multiple people before, so I'd love to have you!" Sumire tensed, but the older woman just smiled. "You're a gymnast, right? So do you have any tips for healthy cooking?"

"Hmm..? Oh, yes. Yes, of course!"

"Perfect!"

The girls left for the kitchen, Sumire immediately counting through a list of simple yet healthy snacks Hanako could make on her fingers. Morgana jumped onto the edge of the couch once Hanako's back was turned and shared a smile with Ren.

"Well," said the teen. "I guess we just have to wait for now."

* * *

Once there, Hanako laid out all the ingredients she'd bought the previous day and turned to her fellow chef. "So, what do you think we should make with everything here?"

Sumire looked over everything, picking some up to read the nutritional information on their labels. She put a tin of spices down and turned to Hanako with a smile. "Curry! It can be really healthy depending on what you put in and it's also delicious! Senpai's especially fond of it!"

"Oh, is that right? You already know all his favorite dishes, huh? You sure work quick."

The younger girl frowned and cocked her head. "Um...what do you mean?"

Hanako raised an eyebrow, but with Sumire still confused she just chuckled and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I've actually made curry before, but I take it you have a specific recipe in mind?" Sumire blushed.

"Um...if you don't mind?"

"Not at all!" Hanako backed away and held a hand out to the kitchen worktop. "Have at it!"

"Thank you very much!" Beaming, Sumire picked up a carrot and knife and got to work. "Um, could you light the stove, please?"

* * *

Halfway through the preparation, Sumire asked to test Hanako's sauce. She backed away from the boiling pot with a small smile, watching Sumire ladle a few drops into her palm and lick it, a wide smile on her face as she swallowed. "This is amazing, Hanako-san!"

"Only because of your precise intructions," the older woman smiled. "You know exactly what to do, even when cooking with someone else! You're a real maestro in the kitchen, you know that? I could learn a lot from you."

Sumire blushed. "Um, it's nothing like that. I'm just going off of my memory. I made it once a week as practice for a few months because Senpai liked it so much...oh! But please don't tell him I said that!" She added, cheeks red.

"Of course not!" Hanako giggled and just watched her for a few seconds.

"Um...Hanako-san? Is something wrong?"

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing. I just think you're very sweet."

"Huh? I...don't know about that," Sumire looked down for a few seconds, mulling over her thoughts before speaking them aloud. "You see, Senpai's done so much for me that I just want to do as much as I can for him in return. To be honest, I don't think I'll ever make it up to him no matter what I do, but I still - "

"I don't think you need to worry about that." Hanako placed a hand on her shoulder. "I admit I've only known you for a few days and I don't know many people to compare you to, but I can already tell you're a wonderful person."

Sumire was quiet for a while, mouth slightly parted. "Hanako-san...um..." She licked her lips. "I think you're wonderful too! You're really funny and...and you're so kind despite everything you've been through, you're like..." she looked away.

"Sumire-chan? Sumire-chan, what's wrong?"

She shook her head. "I - it's nothing. You're...like a role model to me, you know?" She smiled, eyes glistening. "I'm...so happy we met."

"Oh, now you've made me blush too!" Hanako brushed a tear from her eye and held her arms out. Sumire fell into them and the two shared a tight hug. A few seconds passed before Hanako looked over the latter's head. "You know, I'd like a taste test too..." Arms still wrapped around Sumire she also drizzled some of the broth into her palm and licked it. " _Ohhhhh_ , this is _wonderful_!" She pulled back, holding Sumire at arm's length. "You really are a maestro, Sumire-chan!"

The younger girl giggled, cheeks flushed. "Th - thank you, Hanako-san. You were the one who made it though."

"But only because you told me exactly what to do, remember?" She poked the younger girl's nose, prompting another giggle. "But seriously, how has Ren-kun not proposed to you when your cooking's this good?"

"P-p-pro..propose?!" Sumire's face ignited, matching her hair and eyes.

"Well...yeah! You said you've been practising making his favorite curry all this time, right? And we're making so much of the stuff today as well; isn't that so you can make it for him after you're married?"

Hanako could practically hear the gears whirring in Sumire's head for a few seconds before everything clicked and her jaw dropped.

Back in the living room, Ren heard a drawn out shriek. He looked at his cat.

"Hey, Ren...wasn't that..?"

"...iiiiit's probably nothing. Right?"

Morgana gave him a scared smile. "Uh..."

* * *

A short while later, Hanako called the pair into the dining room. Ren placed three plates on the large table with cutlery (plus a fourth plate on the floor for Morgana) and was just sitting down when Sumire walked in holding a large pot. For some reason she didn't talk though, choosing instead to just beside him and wait, her face bright red. Something told him it was better not to ask and fortunately Hanako entered a few seconds later with a second pot, placing it on the table before sitting at its head, on Sumire's right side. The trio served themselves and Morgana a plate of curry each and prayed, but once they started eating Ren caught Hanako looking to his side in awe with the corner of his eye. He turned just in time to see Sumire trying to squeeze extra helpings of curry onto her own plate.

"Now I understand why you insisted we make so much, Sumire-chan."

Sumire's hunger had caused her blush to fade but now it was back in full force. "Um...I was trying to hold back, but...I've always had a big appetite. Sorry..."

Ren chuckled. "It's fine, Sumire."

"Really, Ren-kun? Even though she cooked all this for you?"

" _Hanako-san_!" She sat up straight as though electrocuted.

"I knew it!" Sumire looked horrified but Ren continued after another mouthful. "I thought I recognised the taste. It's as delicious as ever, Sumire." He smiled. Relief flooded Sumire's face for a second before she cleared her throat.

"Um...thank you very much, Ren-senpai..." Ren smiled and squeezed her hand under the table. Hanako placed her chin in her palm and cooed.

"D'aww! You will invite me to the wedding, right? Oh, and don't forget we live in the same town, Ren-kun. I'll hunt you down if you don't!"

Ren gaped while Sumire slammed her head on the table with a long _bang_ , the sound of which gave him strength. After all, someone had to stand up the teasing.

"Don't worry, Hanako-san. I'll make sure Sumire gives you your invite personally." He patted the back of her head as she whined, sharing a chuckle with the older woman at her expense. She raised her head and continued eating with a pout on her face, though the backrub Ren gave her from that moment on with his off-hand eventually won her over. Hanako in turn apologized by leaning over and giving her a side hug.

"Please don't take it the wrong way," she explained as she sat back in her own chair. "I just feel so... _giddy_ seeing you two together. These have already been the best days of my life..." The room was silent for a few seconds before she shook her head. "Buuuuuuuut let's not think about that, because who wants seconds?" She grinned, but raised an eyebrow when Sumire's hand shot up. "I said seconds, young lady, not fifths." Sumire blushed and looked away, eyes downcast.

Hanako chuckled and scooped two helpings of curry onto her plate. The younger girl looked up, shocked. "Hanako-san, you're really giving me this much?"

"You did most of the work, didn't you?"

"Not at all! Hanako - "

Hanako cut her off with a sudden glare. "Telling me what to do is also work." Her expression softened just as quickly. "You deserve to treat yourself, alright?" She winked. Sumire looked at her for a moment before a smile slowly crept its way up her face and she nodded.

"Thank you!"

* * *

"I'm sorry this 'romantic week together' got so serious so quickly," Ren sighed as the pair rounded the corner after saying farewell to Hanako. "We'll be back to work tomorrow too, so why don't we make the most of today and do something special together tonight?"

"Wh-wh- _what_?"

"Huh? What's wro - oh." He let out a mock scoff. "Get your head out of the gutter."

"I-I-I wasn't thinking about anything weird!"

That was one thing Ren was unprepared to tease her about, so cleared his throat instead, exhaling as Sumire leaned into him without complaint. _Well, that's a relief_ _._ He swallowed and with his bearings gathered again he asked "Well, why don't we take the long way home? We can go by that park again if you want; it's usually empty at this time of the day too, so it'll be perfect."

" _Senpai?!_ "

"Oh, calm down." He fought the urge to laugh and gave her a side hug instead. "I just thought you'd appreciate the privacy, obviously." He kept his hand around her waist as they walked. His lingering hand had surprised her at first, but the additional warmth of his body so close to hers seemed to calm her down. "Besides," he added once her blush had faded to a faint pink "even if anyone did see us, I don't think there's anything wrong with my hometown knowing I'm dating the cutest girl to ever live."

"Senpai..." she blushed again, but this time she smiled and placed her head on his shoulder instead of cowering.

The two walked in silence for a while, Ren trying to ignore the smug look on Mona's face as he leaned on his opposite shoulder, before he felt his girlfriend freeze. His legs took two more steps on autopilot before he stopped and turned, facing her from her 11 o' clock position.

"...Sumire?"

"So _that's_ what he was thinking!"

"Huh?"

"The shopkeeper at the drugstore yesterday! He kept giving us weird looks! If he thought we were dating too and saw us buying tablets together..." She covered her mouth and screamed. Ren and Morgana gaped at her before exchanging glances.

"...you only got that now?" Ren muttered.


	7. Chapter 6

_Wednesday, 2nd May_

Yusuke, Makoto and Futaba arrived in the morning.

Ann was overseas and Haru was busy helping Takakura-san open a new branch of his small cafes, while Ryuji was in the middle of a competition. All three apologised for being unable to help via the group chat but Sumire told them not to worry, telling them just as emphatically as they apologized that their well wishes were more than enough support for them.

The new Thieves' first order of business was to check into a hotel on the edge of town and rest after their long trips. It was only after they were refreshed that the original trio felt comfortable briefing them on the situation, meaning it was afternoon by the time they entered the Metaverse using the street adjacent to the alleyway the first three Thieves had been using until then. Once there, Ren let Sumire and Morgana explain the nature of Hanako's distortion in more depth as he looked around.

He locked eyes with Lavenza, who was standing on the other side of the road.

The two were silent for a moment, the small girl giving him a reproachful look. Ren sighed and gave her a sad smile in return. Another moment passed and she returned it.

"Hey, Joker! What are you looking at?"

Ren turned at the sound of Morgana's voice to see he had already turned into a helicopter with the Thieves inside. He looked back at the other pavement.

Lavenza was gone.

"...nothing." He jumped into the helicopter and slid the door shut, relieved that everyone inside still had ample room despite the new additions. "Let's move!"

* * *

"I know you said the Palace was huge," muttered Makoto as she stepped out of the helicopter, "but this is incredible..."

"Yeah," Futaba looked around the station square. "How are we supposed to search _an entire island_?"

The group started walking through the streets, now devoid of tank patrols. Eventually they reached the complex where the original trio's battle with the tanks had occurred.

"Incredible," Yusuke put a hand to his chin. "A battle with transforming machines of war...I can only imagine how fierce it must have been. I must apologise again that we weren't here to help earlier." He fell to the back of the pack in his musing. Futaba turned, walking backwards so she could look at him.

"This is not time to sulk, Inari," she scoffed. "That's why we're here now, isn't it? So we can - _ouch_!" The other Thieves stared as she turned around, rubbing her back. "What the...huh?"

A chunk of earth, almost a perfect cuboid, had partially risen from the ground, right by one of the larger exits from the park, to block her path. Ren held out a hand and walked forward, a metre to her left.

Another cuboid rose to block him as well. He and Futaba looked at each other, but Morgana spoke up before they could say anything.

"I see...Joker, do you remember those weird distortions near the end of Kamoshida's Palace?"

"Hmm? Oh! Oh yeah..." He held his hand out for the barrier to rise again and this time noticed the faint purple mist swirling at its base. "So this Palace has them too, huh?"

"I gyess we were lucky we didn't run into these before, huh Senpai? It would have been incredibly dangerous for you especially, when you acted as bait." Ren nodded.

"But wait!" Makoto tapped her chin. "Isn't this great news, though? If it's impossible to explore certain parts of this Palace, doesn't that mean our search space is much smaller than we thought?"

"Yeah," Futaba muttered "but it could also mean only certain paths are blocked off and we have to go the long way 'round to get anywhere important."

Yusuke scoffed. "We don't know enough about this place either way, so why don't you try to be more positive?!"

"Shut it, Inari!"

Ren and Makoto sighed as one as the duo glared daggers at each other, Sumire just looked from the artist to the second-year girl and back again while Morgana shook his head. "Why don't we get a move on?" He offered.

* * *

The group continued walking. Unfortunately, it seemed the previous battle had only removed patrolling Shadows from the immediately vicinity and it wasn't long before they saw more tanks roaming the streets. Deciding it wasn't worth confronting them without an end goal in mind, the Thieves ran from building to building for cover, letting the distorted barriers guide them. Eventually the group reached a large rundown building with yet another barrier blocking them from moving past.

"Is this a dead-end?" asked Yusuke.

"Well, duh. But I'm actually picking something up from inside this place." Futaba adjusted her goggles. Morgana nodded.

"I feel it too. You were right Queen, these barriers made things so much easier!"

"Perhaps..." Makoto tapped her chin. "But whenever we met a split path we just chose one at random: I think it's just luck that our first dead-end proved promising. We should be more careful next time."

"Oh, you mean like always turning right at a junction? I read somewhere that that's a great way of mapping out an unknown location."

"Interesting. You know, such movement could produce quite elaborate patterns with enough dedication..."

Futaba growled. "If you're going to make us walk in circles just to sate your artistic sensibilities, I take my suggestion back!"

"Please don't fight, Oracle-senpai and Fox-senpai!" Sumire stepped forward as Makoto opened her mouth to interject. "I think that was a wonderful idea. Shall we go inside and see what's waiting for us for now?"

"Well said," Ren patted her on the back and walked through the open gate towards the building. The other Thieves followed him inside, Makoto sighing with relief from the back of the group.

The building's entrance hall was vast, with a large staircase at the end of the room leading to the upper floors. To the left side of the front door was what looked to be a reception desk, with pillars spread out throughout the rest of the room to support the building's weight.

"Is this...a hotel?" Sumire approached the desk and leaned over. "By why is it so..."

"...seedy?" offered Ren. The inside was as run down as the outside, but even accounting for that the building still looked drab, with dark pink walls and bare lightbulbs adorning the roof. The other Thieves spread out, looking into baskets and opening doors until Futaba burst into laughter.

"What is it?" asked Makoto, to which Futaba threw the door she was peeking into wide open and wheeled out the clothes rack she'd found.

"Uh..." Ren tried to digest what he was seeing. The rack was full of...

"Maid outfits?" asked Yusuke. "They...seem different from normal ones though."

"Yeah, they're nowhere near as conservative." She stuck her tongue out. "You know what this place has to be, right?"

A second of silence passed before Ren felt his face heat up. He turned to the others and saw Makoto and Sumire bright red and hiding their faces, while Morgana looked as confused as he felt.

"Actually, I don't. Does that mean this city is much warmer than Japan? Oracle, do you - "

Ren walked up to the eccentric Thief and simply patted his shoulder.

"Joker?"

"...just don't think about it too much." He turned to the group at large. "Oracle, if there's nothing else in there, please shut that door. If you and Mona are right about that strange reading, we probably have another big Shadow to fight: we should be prepared for that."

Futaba let out an exaggerated sigh. "Oh, you're no fun." She took another look into the tiny room and slid the rack back inside, closing the door and turning back around with a flourish. "But you're right. Forwarrrrrd march!"

* * *

The Thieves took the stairs to the second floor, opening doors at random on the off-chance that the rooms within would have something useful. Instead each one revealed a giant heart-shaped bed and outfits strewn on the floor. Not all were maid outfits but they were all just as impractical. Sumire and Makoto half-screamed at the first and jumped to the back of the group from the second room onwards, but it was only at the third that Yusuke let out a soft "...oh."

"Please don't say anything," Ren whispered to him, watching Futaba's smug grin as she shut the door. "Actually," he spoke aloud. "Let's just focus on the reading, I don't think there's anything interesting in here."

"But that's so _boring_!"

"Oracle, please. Besides, this island is deserted, remember? You aren't even going to see anything!"

"Joker!"

"Senpai!"

The other two girls gasped, Sumire even landing a half-hearted punch on his back. Ren winced. "I had to stop her somehow, didn't I?"

The group continued, making more progress without the added task of peeking into the various rooms. They went up to the third floor and entered a much narrower and darker corridor. Morgana and Futaba led the way, followed by Yusuke and Ren with Sumire behind him. Ren heard Makoto whine as soon as she walked in after the younger girl.

"Oh...this place just gets worse and worse." She muttered to herself as they resumed walking. "Why couldn't you have called us for the fight at the train station..."

"Um...Queen-senpai? Would you like to hold my hand?"

"Ah! Oh, it's just you, Violet. Um...that's alright. Wouldn't you rather hold Joker's hand?"

"Oh, um...I _would_ , but..."

_They know we can hear them, right?_

He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything a low cackling filled the air. Even in the near-darkness Ren saw everyone tense.

A dim light appeared at the far end of the long hallway, revealing an obese shadow sitting in a chair with what appeared to be a caretaker in white clothes standing behind it...at least until the light grew and revealed her head to be a spindly gold... _thing_. It made Ren think of a deformed menorah, with tiny rubies instead of candles at the end of each protrusion. The Shadow itself was black in a white and red shirt with stubby limbs. With a faint jolt of revulsion he realised the feet of its chair were feminine legs, but before he could properly digest that information the cackling ceased and the Shadow sent waves of electricity towards them. Ren ran to the front of the group and covered Morgana, calling Thor to protect them as lightning surged through the narrow pathway. As the attack ceased Morgana jumped out and sent a stream of wind out in retaliation and Futaba ran to the back of group, Al Azif forming around her as she jumped into the air. "Scanning!"

Agnes materialized beneath Makoto as she revved a handle and a mix of black, red, purple and green lights surrounded the Shadow. Yusuke and Sumire ran in front of her, calling their Personas and striking it with Physical skills. The three attacks had clearly hurt it, but none had hit a weakness as far as they could tell. They needed something with more punch.

He held his mask and called on Shiva to cast the strongest Psychic attack he could muster. At the same time, Makoto matched him with her fiercest Nuclear attack. The sheer force of the two attacks caused the Shadow to stagger, yet it cackled.

Just like that, Ren gasped and clutched his chest. He couldn't do this. _He couldn't do this!_ If this Shadow could just laugh off their attacks like that...he looked around to see the other Thieves also looking around with wild eyes.

_...wait._

Something didn't seem right. This was a terrifying foe, but why were they _all_ cowering at the same time? Why...

He saw the Shadow raise its stubby arms and summon tiny white lights in the air. Sumire and Yusuke were both so close to it...they were in danger! This double dose of fear instead cleared his mind and he forced himself to stand.

"Maria, grant us Salvation!"

The white Persona appeared above him sung a single note, the animals composing her body also braying in unison. Pale blue light surrounded the Thieves and they snapped to attention, the Shadow's artificial fear dispelled as its Physical attack slashed down. Both Sumire and Yusuke dodged, slashing the Shadow with their swords before backing up to rejoin their allies.

"Thank you, Senpai!"

"Don't mention it!" He took a deep breath.

"Oh no...guys, there's another Shadow!" Everyone looked around at Futaba's shout but saw nothing...until a huge blob of pink gel fell onto Ren's head and shoulders. He groaned and tried to peel it off of him, looking up along with the Thieves to see a much larger pink... _thing_ pass out of sight of the many wide cracks in the ceiling about them.

...but somehow that didn't matter to Ren anymore. He looked around, his friends and even the Shadow before them seeming grey until his eyes latched onto Sumire. He took a step towards her, this girl of his dreams filling his mind with color. He pulled her into his arms and held her tight.

"Se - Senpai?"

"I love you so so much..." he whispered, pecking her cheek.

"Uh...um...Senpai?"

"Joker?!" Ren could faintly make out Makoto's voice. "Joker, what are you doing? The Shadow's recovered, it's going to attack! Snap out of it!"

"A Shadow...? Hey, why don't we leave it to those guys and go on another date?" He didn't even know his voice could go so low. Sumire turned beet-red, but he was too busy trying to pry her mask off to tease her about it.

"S - Senpai, now isn't the time..."

"Guys, Joker's been Charmed!"

 _Charmed?_ Ren thought to himself. _Of course I have, Futaba. Who_ wouldn't _be charmed by Sumire?_

Sumire looked to where he guessed the Shadow was still standing and looked back at him. "Senpai...please stop..."

"I can't do that!" He chuckled. "Now come on, let's go already..." Giving up on removing her mask, he tried to pull her away but she stood firm and bit her lip.

"Then...please forgive me, Senpai!"

"Huh? Sumire? I - "

She drew her hand back.

And slapped him.

Time slowed. It was the act that really shocked him, the impact was just a bonus. His head tilted to one side as he took in Sumire's horrified expression...

Time resumed and he slid a foot out to catch himself, hearing the shadow roar and pulling Sumire out of the way as an ethereal claw gouged the space they had just been in. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Ha! You back with us, Joker?"

"Yeah," Ren nodded, his face on fire. Futaba wouldn't let him live this down for a long while to come. "Thanks, Sumire. I'm... _so_ sorry."

"It wasn't your fault, Senpai..." came the reply. She then mumbled something that sounded awfully like "I...actually kinda liked it."

"Uh...what was that?"

"N - n - n - " she shook both her head and her hands " _nothing!_ "

"Shut up, lovebirds!" Of course Futaba would hear that exchange too. Sumire went from pink to dark red, but their navigator's next words snapped them back to attention. "The pink thing's coming again!"

The Thieves backed up against the walls as more gel fell where they stood. They looked up to see their second foe disappear again, but Makoto snarled. "We're _not_ doing that again. Agnes!" She revved her bike much harder than Ren thought necessary and several orbs of blue energy erupted around the roof. The Thieves ran behind her as it caved in, bringing the Shadow crashing down with it, making a shallow dent in the floor. Ren caught a glimpse of a giant gel-filled heart float up before it and the first Shadow burst into black fog. The seated Shadow turned into a bulky, black knight riding what appeared to be a giant seahorse. A second later the heart-shaped Shadow formed into a young girl chained...to the head of a giant cow?

"What the heck kinda Shadows are these?!" asked Futaba.

"It doesn't matter!" Makoto grit her teeth. "There's not nearly enough room to manouevre here anymore!"

"Right. Fox, Mona and Queen, you handle the newcomer. Violet and I will finish the first one off."

"Got it!" They shouted. Yusuke clutched his mask and his Persona appeared, hurling a giant misshapen cube of ice at the cow Persona. It was knocked back, but didn't seem too worse for wear. Yusuke hissed and touched his mask again, but the cow charged. In the narrow space, all the Thieves could do was dive to the floor and let the Shadow pass over them. Makoto was the first up, jumping on her Persona and revving it, weakening both Shadows. At the same time Futaba did the opposite, filling the Thieves with strength as the others stood up.

But Makoto wasn't done.

She revved again and shot past Yusuke, crashing Agnes directly into the cow-head, sending it flying further down the corridor.

"Woah..."

"Not now, Mona! Get on, team!"

"R - right!" Yusuke and Mona jumped onto Agnes, holding on where they could as she floored it, shooting towards their foe just as it recovered from the impact and sending it flying even further. Sumire and Ren exchanged wide-eyed glances before turning to their designated foe, who also seemed to have been waiting for more space to fight in as bellowed, summoning a giant golden fist above its head and fired it. Both Thieves dodged, letting the fist crash into the already damaged floor, spreading large cracks across it. It charged at Sumire, who spun to one side and called Ella in one fluid motion. Her Persona struck the rider's back with a Bless attack and it shuddered but seemed none too worse for wear. It charged at Ren next, who called Fafnir. The giant, mechanical dragon crossed its arms and repelled the blow, sending the Shadow crashing onto the floor. The wooden panels let out a series of creaks.

_I wonder..._

He willed Fafnir to act and it did, raising both arms and slamming them down. The floor, already ravaged by the fighting, caved at once. The Shadow, still stunned, fell with it. Sumire and Ren peered over the newly formed whole and watched the Shadow plummet, crashing through the second floor as well before slamming into the entrance hall.

"Oracle," Ren said, still looking down. "Tell the others where we are."

"Got it."

He looked and Sumire and they exchanged nods before jumping towards each other. They met directly above the hole. She grabbed him as he launched his grapple into the roof of the fourth floor. Ren saw Al Azif slip out of sight as they fell, chasing after their foe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The cavalry has arrived! Apologies if your favorites didn't show up (I personally had a fun idea with Ryuji in mind), but I couldn't justify them being here when they have their own lives to live. On the other hand, I figured Yusuke would still be in Tokyo and Futaba would most likely spend her breaks with Sojiro so those two would have time to help, while Makoto likely wouldn't be too wrapped up in commitments to show up too (compared to Haru who is helping Okumura Foods on top of learning to run her own cafe on top of her studies). Thanks to his Rank 11 event I also have a head canon that, like Sumire, Yusuke also feels especially indebted to Ren so would make an exception to help him even if he was busy.


	8. Chapter 7

The cow-headed figure bounced off the carpet before Agnes hit it yet again, sending it rolling through air into the wall at the other end of the corridor with a loud thud. Makoto skidded to a halt, barely stopping Agnes from getting jammed between the narrow walls as Yusuke leapt off, propelled by her momentum as he pulled out his sword and slashed the Shadow as it got up. Gorokichi appeared for a follow-up attack, swinging his own blade with such force that the very air seemed to tear. The Shadow crashed into the wall again as Morgana ran to join the fight, calling his own Persona. Diego struck the Shadow with a gale of wind, but even dazed their foe seemed to shrug it off with little effort.

"Dammit, I'm on the wrong team!"

"It's okay, you can still support us!" Still on her bike, Makoto raised her hand and Agnes produced a giant sphere of nuclear energy, staggering the Shadow just as it pulled itself out of the wall. Yusuke followed up with a second block of ice. This time the Shadow froze and rolled onto the floor. Cracks began to form as it tried to escape, but Makoto summoned another blast of blue energy to throw the Shadow back. It retaliated with a huge gust of wind, but Diego blocked the attack. The Thieves could make out faint glimmers of green light as Morgana put his hands on his hips and laughed.

"Hah! I guess if I can't hurt you it means you can't hurt me either...but I can still do _this_!" He summoned four giant fists that slammed into the Shadow all at once, this time embedding it firmly in the dark pink bricks. "Yes!"

But the Shadow simply raised her slim arms in the air and was surrounded in a familiar pale blue light. It pulled itself out of the wall as the light faded, the scars adorning its body until now completely faded.

"You've got to be kidding me!" shouted Makoto before slapping her mouth shut.

* * *

The black rider Shadow was still lying in a crater when Sumire and Ren landed. They braced themselves as it shuddered, watching as it pulled itself up. Ren cursed.

"I guess it won't be that easy."

The Shadow's horse neighed before it charged. The couple dodged in opposite directions but the Shadow glowed red. Ren noticed it had a small cannon embedded in its chest seconds before it started firing round after round after round. The entrance hall transformed into a cacophany of crashes and shards of wood as the small tables laid out for visitors and the stairs exploded. Both of them ran behind the same pillar next to the reception desk, but even it wasn't safe from the Shadow's rampage as a cannonball tore out the solid stone directly above their heads. The two exchanged a glance as they ran as one past the desk. Ren called Fafnir to shield them, but the giant bullets merely bounced off of its metal skin and crashed into the opposite wall. They heard a creak, so mighty it dwarfed even the sound of the surrounding carnage, as the room itself seemed to shift.

"Senpai! If we don't do something now, even Oracle-senpai and the others will be in danger!"

"Yeah," Ren peeked around Fafnir at the ceiling and looked back at her. "How about it?"

"Right!"

Sumire jumped onto what was left of the reception desk and leapt into the air as Ren fired his grapple. It hooked onto the roof and he caught her as he flew past, tossing her in the air at his peak as he threw his line for a better angle. She twirled in the sky and wrapped herself around him as she fell, Ren using her weight to swing himself in a circle around the wounded Shadow, riddling it with bullets of his own before throwing Sumire into the air one last time. She fell with her sword drawn, slashing through the Shadow's torso before darting around it, piercing it here and there, using her natural talent to slip from blind spot to blind spot before gouging its stomach one last time as Ren landed. Seeing the Shadow slump once more on the ground, she beamed and grabbed Ren, pulling him towards her as she let herself fall into his arms. He turned his head to watch the Shadow explode behind them before pulling her to her feet with a grin.

"Heh, you always catch me off-guard with that."

"Well, you tease me every chance you get too," Sumire stuck her tongue out, but a loud crash from outside brought the two back to reality.

"...let's go."

"Right!"

Ren led the way outside and around to the right of the hotel where they saw the cow-headed Shadow lying in a huge crater. They looked up to see an equally sized hole in the wall of the third floor.

"What the heck happened?!"

"Sorry!" Makoto poked her head out, followed by Yusuke, Morgana and a cackling Futaba. "I...kinda got annoyed at it healing itself over and over."

"So you threw it through a wall?!"

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?! Blame Yusuke for making it so easy for me!"

"Excuse you, all I did was freeze it!"

Ren heard the Shadow stir, but before he could react, Sumire pulled out her rifle with a yelp and shot its human head. Only its chin and the top of its forehead remained for a moment before the entire creature turned into a cloud of black fog.

"Whoa, Violet!"

"Senpai? I'm so sorry, it surprised me! Um...should I have let Queen-senpai do it instead?"

"Please stop..." wailed the older girl from above. "We'll be right down..."

"...right. Yeah, see you down here."

Just as the four Thieves disappeared from view, the fog of the Shadow's remains changed color flowed sideways through the wall of the hotel. Ren and Sumire exchanged glances and ran back inside in time to see the mist fuse with the now-white remains of the seahorse-riding Shadow. Ren walked up to the now glowing orb and reached in, pulling out a large red ribbon.

"Huh. Do you want this for your collection, Violet?"

" _Senpai_!" She blushed. "I don't have a _collection_!"

"Hmm?" He turned the ribbon over in his hands. "Oh, you're right. Now that I take a closer look this looks more like a bow tie. A pretty big one though." He held it up to his throat. "What do you think?"

Sumire just pouted. "Senpai..."

He chuckled and watched the ribbon fade from his hand. "I wonder how many of these things we need."

* * *

With the battle done, the Thieves returned to the real world. Sumire and Ren took the newcomers to meet Hanako - or, as Futaba put it "to get intel on our next adversary!"

...at least until Yusuke slapped the back of her head. Makoto spent so much time trying to defuse the resulting argument before it could even begin that the trio didn't even realise where they were until Ren rung Hanako's doorbell and nudged Futaba (the loudest of the three) to be quiet.

Needless to say, Hanako was thrilled at the prospect of meeting more of Sumire and Ren's friends and ushered them into the living room at once, running off to grab chairs from the dining room - something Sumire insisted on helping with ("I refuse to take no for an answer, Hanako-san!" she'd shouted, earning the stares of everyone in the room before she realized what she'd done and whispered a "...please?")

Once everyone was seated - Makoto and Futaba on the two-seater couch, the latter still throwing the occasional glare at Yusuke who took the single-seater and did the same while the remaining three humans took the dining chairs - Ren started the introductions as the others bit down on the snacks Sumire and Hanako had also brought, balanced on the seats.

"This is Futaba. She's the adoptive daughter of the man who looked after me while I was in Tokyo, so she's pretty much a sister to me."

"We're each other's key items!" She offered. She'd been rigid since coming in but now beamed as she sat on the sofa with her legs up as always.

"For the last time, put your feet down!" Makoto hissed. She seemed to have thought she'd been quiet, considering how she jerked back when Hanako laughed.

"It's fine. I read somewhere that sitting like that burns a lot of calories. You must be very health-conscious Futaba-chan, just like Sumire-chan here!"

"...right! Yeah, that's exactly it!" Futaba chuckled as she rubbed her nose. Makoto sighed, though Ren suspected she too was relieved that Futaba's body had relaxed.

"Suuuuure. Anyway, this is Makoto" continued Ren. "She was my senpai in Tokyo. She's incredibly smart." Makoto blushed but flashed him a shy smile. "And _this_ is Yusuke," he motioned to the blue-haired boy "we actually went to different schools, but we took the same train to them. Anyway, one thing led to another and we became friends. He's an amazing artist, he even has scholarship for it." Hanako 'ooh'ed at the information while Yusuke gave him a thankful smile. Ren gave him a smile back. He didn't think anyone needed to know exactly _how_ their shared train had brought them together.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet all of you. You're all so distinct in your own ways! May I ask what brought you all here?"

"We were simply passing through," said Yusuke. "But we knew Ren lives here so thought we'd come pay him and Sumire a visit."

"Yeah, we'll only be here for a while," Futaba leaned forward. "Don't worry, we won't be interrupting on their romantic get-together for too long." Sumire spluttered at this and Futaba sat back with a grin, muttering "Mission accomplished!" _just_ loud enough for Ren to hear.

"Oh?" Hanako cocked her head and Ren wondered if she'd heard too. "But isn't it a sister's job to see if her brother's girlfriend is worth dating?"

"Hanako-san!"

"Oh, she passed the test with flying colors ages ago." Futaba adjusted her glasses. "It was actually kinda nice to have someone even younger than me in our friend group too. It's a weird feeling, but I like it!"

"...thank you, Futaba-senpai," Sumire gave her a shy smile and Futaba cackled again.

"Oh, so she's like this with everyone, huh?" Hanako leaned over and poked Sumire's nose, watching her splutter for a few seconds before turning to the others. "Why don't you tell me more about yourselves? Makoto-chan and Yusuke-kun, you two are in college now, right? What do you want to do once you graduate?"

"Oh," Makoto tilted her head. "My goal is to become a police commissioner. My father was one and I'd like to follow in his footsteps. Although..." she paused for a moment. "To be honest, I was student council president at Shujin and I've seen enough suffering - both in and out of school - that I think I'd have wanted to be a commissioner even without my father setting an example. Or at least another profession that opposes crime." She finished with a faint blush.

"I see," Hanako leaned forward and patted Makoto's shoulder, which made her sit up straight and her blush deepen. "You've had a hard life, haven't you, Makoto-chan?"

"Well...I don't think so. My sister had it worse, since she had to look after me after our father died _and_ compete in her profession. She was a public prosecutor, you see. She's a lawyer now, which is easier for her to handle, but...I'd really like to help her too."

"I see," Hanako nodded. "I'm sure you will. It sounds like fighting crime and standing up for the people is in your genes. And you have such an intense look in your eyes, I'm sure you have it in you to achieve your dreams and then some." She smiled. Makoto hid those eyes as she adjusted her bangs before looking back at the older woman.

"Um...thank you very much! I...I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to, just make sure you do your best! But even without Ren-kun telling me I can tell just by looking at you that you're an intelligent woman. I doubt you'll have any serious troubles going forward." She flashed another smile, leaving a second stuttering mess in her wake before turning to Yusuke. "Your turn, Yusuke-kun!"

"As Ren said, I'm an artist. I simply wish to create another piece on the level of my mother's creations. To that end I study art at college. I confess, it feels like every drop of experience I gain exposes oceans that I still need to learn, but I enjoy the challenge."

Hanako smiled at this too. "Isn't there a proverb somewhere that an expert is defined by how much they know they don't know? If you've accepted something like that, then I think you're well on your way to achieving success in the art world."

Yusuke gave her a slight bow. "Thank you very much, it warms my heart to hear such words from you."

"I'm glad to hear it! But you said you wanted to match your mother? Does that mean you have an artistic family, like Makoto-chan?"

Yusuke fell silent, but before Hanako could apologise he spoke again. "I...don't know my birth father, nor any of my other blood relatives. My...adoptive father was an artist, however. But he..."

More silence.

"Yusuke-kun? Oh, I'm so sorry if I brought up any bad memories - "

"Don't be," he smiled. "I admit I still have mixed feelings about him and I suspect I always will, but for all his...mistakes, it's true he taught me everything I know about artistry. It's simply up to me to use those skills and forge my own path. And forge it I will."

"That's what I like to hear!" Hanako smiled again. "I guess I was right all along, you looked incredibly mature from the moment I saw you and saying something like that? I'm so impressed I could almost cry." She wiped her eyes and Yusuke half-rose from his seat to stop her.

"Please don't! To be honest, I still feel like a child at times. If it weren't for my friends, I...I don't even want to think where I would be today."

"I'm happy to hear that," Hanako looked at him again, eyes back to normal. "It's wonderful to have supportive friends, isn't it?" She looked at the assembled group of smiles before turning back to him. "I don't think making honest mistakes is a bad thing. You learn from them, don't you?" Yusuke paused, but nodded. "Then isn't that the most important thing?" Her shoulders had a light bounce to them as she hummed, her smile wider than ever. "Oh, I almost forgot to ask! Yusuke-kun, are you working on anything right now?"

"Hmm? Well...I have a few ideas in mind, but I find it best to paint when my heart tells me to. For now I paint smaller pieces. Beautiful landscapes, people, animals, fish..."

"Lobsters," offered Futaba.

Yusuke either refused to take the bait or didn't realize he was being baited. "Indeed, even crustaceans."

"Ooh, wow! I guess being able to take inspiration from anything is the mark of a true artist! What about your larger pieces, what sorts of things do you paint for those?"

"Oh, my larger pieces are reserved for topics that hold a special place in my heart. Important people in my life or themes like friendship or beauty...it's the abstract nature of such things that make them difficult to draw, but I consider them worthwhile challenges."

"Wow...the most abstract thing I've ever done is use different colored wool when I knit. You're on a completely different level, Yusu - "

"...you knit, Hanako-san?" He sat up straight. Hanako jumped back in her own seat.

"Um..." she blinked. "Yes?"

"Ah, wonderful! Why didn't you tell me you were a fellow artist?"

"Um...I'm not really an artist, am I?"

"Of course you are! Surely you seek the perfect blend of colours as you knit, yes? Do you not strive to make each piece of clothing as beautiful as it can be?"

"I...guess so? I really just do it when I'm bored, so I _have_ to experiment from time to time to keep things interesting...I knit a lot." She added with a shrug.

Yusuke chuckled to himself and Hanako looked at Sumire with wide eyes.

"He's...unique," whispered the younger girl.

"Uh...huh."

"Hanako-san!" Both girls jumped at the boy's voice and Hanako whipped around as though she'd been electrocuted.

"Y-yes, Yusuke-kun?"

"Could I possibly see your creations? I've always wanted to experiment with other forms of art, so I'm sure you too could become a rich source of inspiration for me!"

"Um..." Hanako blinked a few times before composing herself, after which she smiled. "Of course! Shall I give you some scarves I made when you leave? Actually, why don't I give you all some?" She looked around. "I was actually thinking of giving you something already," she said to Sumire and Ren "so this works out perfectly!"

Yusuke opened his mouth to say something, but Futaba cut him off. "You _are_ going to wait patiently until then for the scarves, aren't you? I didn't raise you to demand them on the spot like a spoiled toddler."

Yusuke froze, then slumped in his seat, looking anywhere but them. "O - of course, who do you think I am?

"Hehehe."

"And that brings us to you, Futaba-chan!"

"Eep!"

Hanako giggled. "I've never heard anyone say that outside of chat rooms."

"You visit chat rooms?"

"Hmm? Oh yes, I play games online from time to time. I'm not a professional by any means, but I'm proud of my abilities."

"Ooh! Does that mean you have a killer machine? Can I see?" She leaned forward, which made Yusuke scoff.

"What did you _just_ say to me?"

"Ah...shut up, Inari!"

"You - !"

Makoto was prevented from interfering by Hanako giggling. They waited for her to calm down.

"I'm afraid I don't have any high-end equipment, but what I have gets the job done. I take it you're very interested in technology then, Futaba-chan?"

"Yep! I'm always reading magazines and articles. It's crazy how fast computers can get nowadays, huh? Games can look _soooooo_ realistic these days!"

"I know!" Hanako laughed as the others in the room exchanged glances. _She was a gamer too?_ "Futaba-chan, is that something you'd like to study, by any chance?"

"Hmm...I do think it's interesting, but I want to study something else."

"Oh? Now I'm curious," Hanako leaned forward and smiled. "You know so much about computers, but if you want to study something else it has to be interesting. What is it?"

Futaba rubbed her nose again. "A little something called cognitive psi...I mean, psychology."

"Ooh, I love that stuff! I've done some light reading on the topic, is there a specific field you want to go into?"

"I'm really into the experimental stuff! My mom was a researcher, so I'd love to follow in her footsteps one day. She was so clever and discovered so much interesting stuff, I wanna do exactly what she did!"

"Wow..." Hanako looked away for a moment, then returned her gaze to Futaba. "You know, your enthusiasm just _radiates_ off of you. I'm sure you'll go far and find things your mother could only dream of." The ginger-haired girl blushed and rubbed her nose once more.

"Hehe...thanks..."

"Hey, I'm just telling the truth." Hanako reached forward and patted her on the head. Futaba's eyes widened and she let out a little squeak. Hanako paused, but a flashed smile from the small girl made her relax. "I really do think you'll achieve great things with how technically minded you are. I think experimental work needs people with good attention to detail, right?"

"I've read that as well!" Futaba beamed. "Sounds like I've got it in the bag!"

Hanako nodded. "Oh, and maybe you could use what you learn to cure me too? I am an amnesiac, after all."

Silence.

Hanako looked from one tense expression to the other before laughing. "I was just kidding about that last part." She sat back and looked at the Thieves one by one. "You know, it's incredible. You each have dreams and know exactly what path to take to get them," she turned to the ones she'd met today "and you three are following in the footsteps of your parents, you're trying to get closer to them. You know...it actually makes me a little jealous." More silence. Hanako looked at a worried Sumire and smiled, brushing a tear from her eye as she shook her head. "Oh, never mind me just bringing the mood down twice in a row. And after I promised I wouldn't do that anymore too! _Anyway!_ " Sumire jumped at how loud Hanako had spoken the last word. "Who wants more snacks?"

* * *

The conversation resumed with much lighter topics until evening came and the Thieves left Hanako's home, the older woman waving them off from her door.

Yusuke examined the blue scarf she'd given him, adorned with white clouds on one side and green hills on the other. "What excellent craftsmanship."

"I have to agree," Futaba slid her own scarf, striped with all the colors of the Phoenix Rangers. She had gushed at length about the franchise after Hanako let slip that she'd watched one of the movies when it aired on TV the previous year, so it was a no-brainer that this was the scarf the older woman would give her.

"And she was so nice too." Makoto had received a navy blue scarf with grey highlights. Hanako had said she was trying to recreate the night sky, but Ren suspected Makoto actually liked it because it matched Queen's color scheme.

"Yes," said Yusuke. "She even connected with Futaba so easily."

"Yeah..." Futaba wrapped her scarf around her neck for a few seconds before taking it off. "Oof, sweaty already...wait, why do I feel a sense of deja vu?"

"Because this is exactly what happened with Dr. Maruki," Yusuke froze for a second before continuing. "I wonder, is it a coincidence that she also has a Palace that defies all expectations?"

"Hmm..." Makoto frowned. "Ren, you said Lavenza didn't want us to infiltrate it, didn't you? Did she say anything else?"

"Nope. She definitely knows something, but she said it 'wasn't her answer to give' or something like that."

"Lady Lavenza...I wonder if she's okay." Even Morgana had a scarf. He'd been offended when Hanako told them she'd made it after seeing a stray dog outside her window one night, but couldn't refuse the small yellow wool with blue polka dots on it. ("It's as eye-catching as me!" He'd explained.)

"Yeah, she definitely seemed worried, but I just can't bring myself to turn her down, you know?"

The others nodded. "Well, the scale of her distortion is on another level to anything we've ever seen," Yusuke rolled his scarf around his arm. "I wonder if that's what she was concerned about."

"I was wondering about that actually," Makoto turned to Morgana. "Our current theory is that her amnesia is the cause of her distortion, correct? Then is it possible that how long someone's been distorted affects the size of their Palace?"

"Hmm...I dunno. Kaneshiro sounded like he had money problems his whole life, but his distortion only covered a city. Meanwhile, Shido's ego probably only ran rampant once Akechi gave him a way to achieve his dreams, but his distortion covered an entire country...though we couldn't actually explore the country like we could the mainland in Hanako's."

"Yeah," continued Futaba. "And Dr. Maruki's girlfriend was attacked roughly ten years ago but his desires were so distorted he could mess with the entire planet if he wanted to...though he also had his Persona. Huh, I guess there really isn't a way to calculate this sort of thing."

"That's a shame..." Sumire was squeezing her scarf between her hands. It was a bright pink with wavy red lines cutting through it. Hanako had made her blush by saying she deserved something as cute as she was...and made her blush again by handing Ren a black scarf with straight red lines across it, saying he deserved one as strong-looking as him. To be fair, he'd blushed a little at that too.

Ren put his arm around her shoulders. "We'll help her, won't we, guys?"

"Of course!" Makoto nodded. "She's so kind, but her heart is in such shambles...I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't change it."

"Yeah, now that I know her in person, I get the feeling that going into her Palace would be like reading her diary or something, but I still wanna do something for her!"

"My thoughts exactly," said Yusuke. "I too feel a bit guilty, but there's really no explaining the nature of our work to her, is there?"

"You hear that, Sumire?" Morgana leaned in front of Ren's chest so he could make contact with the girl hanging off of his opposite shoulder. "We're all in this with you, so don't worry about it!"

"Thank you all so much. I just..." she clenched her fists. "I want to make her feel better, but I also want to do something about her memory too. You know, help her with the reason for her distorted heart, not just her heart itself. Don't you all feel the same way?"

The Thieves all exchanged looks. "Of course we do." Ren pulled her into a hug and she leaned into it.

"Hey! We're all sad too!" Futaba jumped forward and hugged them both. Sumire blushed, but wrapped an arm around her fellow redhead. Makoto giggled.

"You know, group hugs _are_ good for morale."

"Indeed. I was just thinking we needed a way to decompress."

The two joined the huddle. The living mass of limbs could faintly hear a high-pitched meow followed by a "Guys! You're crushing my spine!" from somewhere in their centre, but kept the hug going for a few more seconds before they parted. Morgana sagged over Ren's shoulder, taking a deep breath.

The group dropped Sumire off at the sports hall with the three newcomers giving their regards to a surprised Coach Hiraguchi.

"Wait, you're multiplying already?"

" _Coach!_ "

"Ha!"

"Futaba-senpai!"

"Please don't do this, Futaba..." Makoto placed an arm around the slightly older girl and turned her around. "It's good to meet you, Hiraguchi-san."

"Same to you. Now, shall we get started, Sumire?"

Ren then walked with the others to their hotel. After a few more hours of catching up with them, Ren collected a cheerful but sweaty Sumire from her practice and took her home. The two went to sleep after dinner with Ren's family, their resolves to save their new friend firmer than ever before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did NOT expect this chapter to be as long as it was, but I'm glad it was. It was nice to explore the other Thieves some more! I hope you liked the longer than usual read too, it's almost twice the size of my usual updates!


	9. Chapter 8

_Thursday, 3rd May_

The Thieves weren't nearly as lucky during their next foray into Hanako's Palace. Even applying Futaba's trick of turning right at each new junction only rewarded them with a continuous string of dead ends.

"I've been thinking," Makoto began as the Thieves ducked into an alleyway to catch their breath as a squad of grey tanks rolled past. "This place is connected to Hanako-san, correct?"

"Yes?" Yusuke folded his arms.

"Well, I've been thinking. If this is based on a real location, maybe we'd have better luck looking for places important to her?"

"Like her house?" asked Ren.

"Well, even _she_ wouldn't know where that is, right?" Futaba turned to Makoto. "So we're better off looking for places we can predict are important to her. Like an arcade or high school."

"Exactly what I was going to say."

"Wow, you two are geniuses, Queen-senpai! Oracle-senpai!" Sumire clapped her hands as Morgana nodded to himself.

"Now that you mention it," he spoke as if to himself. "I do remember seeing a fancy looking building on the other side of the island when we flew in. I think it could have been a school of some kind, you think we should check it out?"

"Well spotted, Mona." Queen turned to the others. "I think it's worth looking into, instead of walking in circles out here. Do you all agree?"

The other Thieves nodded. Morgana peered out of their hiding spot and grumbled. "Well, the roads here are too narrow for a helicopter, so we're gonna have to drive back to one of the larger districts first. Do you mind, Queen?"

"Not at all."

Morgana ran out and transformed, with Queen close behind. She jumped in behind the steering wheel as the other Thieves piled in behind her, Futaba riding shotgun as she groaned. "But the big roads are sooo far awayyyy!"

"Quit your complaining, just be happy we have a plan now."

"Inari!"

" _Please_ , let's just focus on the task at hand..." Makoto sighed and flicked a switch. Morgana's engine purred and she pulled away. Futaba - who sat up in her chair so she could face backwards - and Yusuke glared daggers at each other while Sumire leaned into Ren's ear.

"They have a sweet dynamic, don't you think?"

"...huh?"

* * *

Not only had they gone further off the beaten path than Ren realized, Makoto also had to pull Morgana into hiding spots every so often to avoid further Shadow patrols. In addition to the tanks from earlier, the Thieves' jaws dropped as they encountered a pack of four-legged Shadows with humanoid torsos and giant spears for arms.

"You know," Makoto thought aloud once they hit the road again "it's so bizarre to drive Mona on normal roads."

"Hey," snapped the car "don't let your guard down!"

"I know these aren't _really_ normal, I'm just saying!" Makoto looked around. "I just wish all the signs weren't blank." She looked up as they reached a T-junction and Ren did the same. What should have been signs naming adjoining roads before her was just a trio of blank white rectangles.

"That's probably just due to her amnesia," Futaba had calmed down by now and was resting her chin on the dashboard.

"I agree." Makoto chose at random and turned the car left. "But if this place is affected by Hanako-san's amnesia, could that be another explanation for the blockades we've been seeing? You know, maybe we can only go to places that she herself has seen or been to. Maybe we can't go anywhere else because she simply doesn't know about them?"

"That would make sense..." Yusuke nodded to himself. "I know we should be glad about the reduced 'search space' as you put it yesterday, but that makes this already shallow Palace feel even more...desolate, does it not?"

"..." Sumire looked away. Ren patted her shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"Hmm? Y - yeah, I'm fine."

"You're really fond of her, aren't you?"

Sumire thought for a while as a faint blush dusted her cheeks. "I...I guess so."

"Careful, Joker!" Futaba turned around once more. "Don't get jealous, now!"

Sumire's blush deepened but Ren just smiled. "Oh, I'll be fine. Violet's the one who should be worried."

"Right!" Sumire blinked. "...wait, what? Senpai?!"

Ren and Futaba just laughed until the car shuddered before grinding to a halt. They turned to see Makoto had driven off the road and into the middle of a park.

"What the heck?! Queen!"

"Sorry! Um, is everyone ready to fly?"

The group nodded, so their driver patted the dashboard. "Okay Mona, you're up."

"Right!"

In a puff of smoke, Morgana transformed around them into a helicopter and took to the sky. Despite the sudden loss of space, Ren was just glad Ryuji wasn't around to accidentally push him out like the last time this had happened.

* * *

For all their concerns about the long drive, their banter meant they hadn't even realized they'd driven most of the way to the building Morgana had mentioned and it was only a few minutes later that he landed in front of its wide gates. The group jumped out and stared at the long path stretching before them and the massive building at the other end.

"...are we sure this is the right place?" Futaba asked as they passed inside the compound. "This place looks wayyyy too fancy to be a college, let alone a high school."

"Makoto rubbed her chin. "That's true, but this is our best bet so far. Besides, there are specialist schools that can afford to be so extravagant."

"You mean, this is a 'high-end' school? I didn't even know those existed."

"It's possible this is a private school," offered Yusuke. "Though that still doesn't explain the sheer extravagance on display here."

The group approached and Futaba immediately ran to one of the windows. "Yep, this is a school alright!" she said as she came back. Ren looked into the rooms from where he stood with the others and saw a familar set up of desks and a blackboard.

"So what?" asked Yusuke. "Do we just go through the front door?"

"That...sounds risky," Sumire tensed but Makoto sighed.

"True, but what choice do we have?" She approached the steps leading to the double doors, but at that moment they were thrown open by an enormous blast of wind.

"Take cover!" Ren ran forward and called Norn. The golden Persona appeared in front of Makoto, blocking her and the rest of the Thieves from the assault. The pair backed away to the others as they heard a wooshing sound heading for them, barely escaping the shower of brick and wood as the entrance of the building exploded outward.

Two Shadows stood before them as the dust cleared. One was an overweight woman in a dull blue dress with tiny limbs, an elongated neck and wielding a wand in one hand. The other resembled a top heavy man wearing a black chestplate with a red cross drawn on it. While its legs were also tiny, its arms came down to its knees with one hand holding a sword that was far too small for it.

The soldier bellowed, voice muffled slightly by its purple mask as it charged. Its small legs meant it could only waddle, yet it was still fast. Ren called Fafnir to block it, yet the Shadow didn't seem at all fazed by the Persona pushing it back. Yusuke called his own Persona and fired a volley of icicles at it. This attack _did_ affect it, with the Shadow roaring in pain and stumbling back. The feminine Shadow stepped forward and Makoto created a sphere of atomic energy beneath its feet.

But the attack did nothing.

Sumire ran forward and summoned Ella, who shot through the air and kicked the female Shadow before it could attack, throwing it back. The masculine Shadow advanced but Fafnir attacked with its own atomic blast. This time the Nuclear assault was successful, throwing the Shadow into the wall right beside the now-destroyed door frame.

"Fox, Violet, you take the lady! Everyone else, with me on the guy!"

"Right!"

Morgana whipped up a flurry of wind that knocked the male Shadow down just as it got back up. Ren watched as Yusuke and Sumire surrounded the female in a doubly thick sphere of blades that slashed away at it. He grinned.

Both Shadows yelled and exploded into fog. The force of their transformation forcing the Thieves back.

 _I thought so..._ "Everyone, brace yourselves!"

The Shadows reformed, though this time they retained aspects of their former selves. The female Shadow was now slim and wore a metallic blue corset. The rest of its body was still the same dark blue as before though it now wielded two swords - a short one in its right hand and a rapier in its left - instead of a wand. The male's change was more drastic: its legs had bulked up to match its upper body and its color changed to a bright blue with what appeared to be a white vest over its torso, while its sword had transformed into a thin needle attached to its wrist. It shook its head, its new long hair almost floating from side to side as it let out a second battle cry.

The female yelled and summoned a semi-circle of icicles above its head. It fired, but Yusuke jumped in front of the party before Ren could react.

"Allow me!"

He summoned Gorokichi. The ice shattered against his body with no effect. The male Shadow summoned a surge of lightning. Morgana dodged but the others took the hit, shuddered as electricity coursed through them and into the ground.

"Burn 'em, Zaou-Gongen!" Ren summoned the blue-skinned diety who in turn called a pool of blistering flames beneath their foes. The male stumbled a little but the female screamed and fell back almost at once. "Gotcha!"

"My turn! Diego!" Morgana sent a flurry of wind at the remaining Shadow who braced itself, standing after the attack ended looking none the worse for wear. In exchange, it charged at him, needle-hand outstretched.

"Why me?!" Morgana froze like a deer caught in headlights, but Makoto drove by in Agnes, scooping him up and retreating before spinning around, surrounding his attacker in multi-colored mist. Yusuke attacked with ice, the shards crashing into it from behind and it fell forward onto its knees.

"That worked?" He shook his surprise away and ran forward, calling Gorokichi to slash the Shadow back down as it rose. Sumire watched this double-hit and turned to the other Shadow, repeatedly trying to rise as Ren hurled orbs of fire at it. The Shadow wobbled on the spot but suddenly charged at him, rapier held out. He stumbled back, narrowly dodging at it zoomed past him.

"Senpai!"

Sumire called her own Persona and summoned a pair of giant swords, one in front and one behind the Shadow. Both slashed down at once, cutting into its flesh and spinning it around and into a heap on the floor. It rose, but Ella dove down and kicked it once, twice. It rolled across the earth and did not rise again.

"Awesome work!"

Ren raised his hand and Sumire, with a shy smile, high-fived him. The two Thieves looked at each other and smiled before turning to the others in time to see Yusuke hurl another volley of ice at his foe, freezing it in place. Makoto weakened it before Morgana leapt into the air, calling four giant fists that crashed into it, shattering the ice and crushing its torso. Sumire and Ren winced as the Shadow fell to its knees, holding itself up with its needle arm for a second before it too collapsed. Both Shadows turned into the now familiar mist and fused together. Yusuke grabbed the result this time, but frowned before he opened his fist to the others.

Morgana jumped on Ren's shoulders to take a look, but both boys were just as confused as their friend.

"Uh...what are they?" asked the feline.

Yusuke held a few small strips of folded metal in his palm. Sumire took one into her own.

"Um, aren't these...hairclips?"

"But why hairclips?" Makoto also picked one up.

"Well, the one before was a ribbon, right?" Futaba joined in, taking a clip from Yusuke and holding it up to the light. "Maybe we're just picking up the stuff Hanako lost?"

"That does make a strange sort of sense," Yusuke tipped the remaining three clips into Ren's palm and the girls followed suit, giving him each of the clips they'd examined too. Ren looked at them again.

"It still seems quite random though. I was expecting something more meaningful..." he shrugged, then shook his head. "Well, a question for another time." He looked back at the building. "So there are schools like this too, huh?"

"Yeah..." Futaba looked it over as well before turning to the others with a grin. "Hey, do you think I could earn a spot at a place like this?"

"Well, if you put in the work..." Futaba groaned at the older girl's words.

"But I _am_ putting in the work! ...but you know what?" She pumped both fists. "Don't worry, I'll definitely make it to a place like this someday!"

"Your aspirations are truly a sight to behold. You've come a long way since we first met."

"Sh - shut up, Inari!"

"He's right, though." Ren chuckled as Futabas cheeks turned pink.

"You - you really think so?"

"Of course!"

"Oh...well in that case, thank you very much, Joker!"

"Hey, why aren't you thanking me?"

"I said shut up, Inari! But...thanks."

Yusuke chuckled. "Hmm, a compliment from Oracle, eh? What a strange experience."

"Please don't make this worse," Makoto sighed. Ren and Sumire chuckled at the scene before the former stepped forward.

"Well, shall we get going?"

"Yeah," said Morgana. "But we fought two Shadows at once again. Not only that, we wasted a ton of time and energy just roaming the streets beforehand too. We handled this fight better than yesterday's but I still think it'd be best to retreat for today. There's so much about this place that we still don't understand, I don't want us to get caught off-guard with our strength low."

Makoto nodded, followed by the other Thieves. Ren did the same and clenched his fist, feeling their newest acquisition fade into white light.

"So they really do disappear," muttered Yusuke while Futaba adjusted her goggles.

"Well, I still sense their presence on you just like Mona can, so I don't think they're like Jose's flowers. I really do think they're just things she forgot, but experience suggests we probably have to collect them all to open a locked door somewhere or something. Oh! Maybe we need to find her home! I mean..." she looked at the destroyed entrance to the school. "I get the feeling this place doesn't have a functioning Lost and Found desk anymore."

"Her home, huh?"

"What's wrong, Queen?"

"Hmm?" Makoto glanced at Ren and shook her head. "I just thought of something, but Mona's right: it's better that we look into it tomorrow. Speaking of, this place turned out to be useful and there's more than enough space here to land a helicopter, so why don't we pick up from here next time?"

The group agreed.

"Excellent. Well then. Mona, if you would?"

"Y - yes, Queen!" Morgana turned into a helicopter. The group got in and he flew them back to reality and the warm spring breeze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always for your support, everyone! I feel like I don't say that nearly enough :')


	10. Chapter 9

_Friday, 4th May_

Upon arriving in the Metaverse, the Thieves took off from the mainland as usual, only for Futaba to point out of the window as they reached the water.

"Guys, look! The train!"

They pressed their faces against the glass and saw that the train that had so long been dormant was now running alongside them. The Thieves looked at one another.

"I guess we're making a detour before we go back to the school, Mona."

"Got it, Joker!"

* * *

The group landed in the square in front of the station ahead of the train, running up the stairs to the empty platform just as it pulled into view. They braced as it slowed down. Only the doors of the front carriage opened.

The exchanged glances again and walked up to it, only for -

"Woah!"

\- Shadows to surge out. They all looked the same: floating hair supporting giant crowns. The Thieves charged. Ella and Arsene's elemental attacks did nothing, but Makoto and Morgana's stopped them in place. Yusuke attacked next, summoning a swarm of ice that coated the platform, destroying them all.

"Ah, it seems this is my time to shine!"

The Thieves tried and failed to open the other carriages so entered the now-empty one that had been opened for them. They walked down it to the door at the other end. Yusuke turned the handle. It turned.

"It seems whoever or whatever sent this train wants to challenge us," muttered Makoto as they stepped into the next carriage. A flash of black erupted in its middle as Futaba closed the door behind them, creating more of the floating Shadows. Yusuke stepped forward and threw them back with another ice attack. "Splendid!"

Sumire stepped forward and called Ella, summoning a swarm of blades to cut through the Shadows before they could recover. She turned back once they all dissipated. "So, what now?"

The group looked past the seats at the door awaiting them on the other side. "'Another carriage, another challenge' seems to be the rule here," said Futaba. "We've had to jump through weird hoops in Palaces before, at least this one seems pretty straightforward."

"True," Ren nodded. "Just let us know if anything weird appears, alright?"

* * *

More floating hair attacked them in the next carriage and the carriage after that. Both groups were dealt with by Yusuke knocking them unawares with ice before another Thief destroyed them with a Physical skill.

"Are you holding up, Fox?" asked Futaba as she scanned ahead. "The next few carriages seem empty, but so did these ones before we entered them. We'll probably be doing this for a while."

"Of course! It'll take a lot more than this to wear me down."

"Glad to hear it," Ren tapped his arm. "But don't be afraid to let us take over, alright?"

"Thank you for your concern, but you truly needn't worry. I'll be fine." Yusuke opened the next door as he spoke and the Thieves stepped through, but instead of the now-familiar floating hair, a spawn of sludgy Shadows formed on the floor of the carriage instead, pulling themselves along with their hands and looking up at the newcomers through their small blue masks.

"Same as before," Ren muttered as he stepped forward. "Arsene!"

The Thieves cast an attack of each element at the Shadows - Makoto moving to the back of the group to fit Agnes in the narrow space - each one landed but did only regular damage. Sumire and Yusuke each used Physical skills to tear through the Shadows, their combined effort overcoming the Shadows' lack of weakness and turning them all to mist. Ren patted both on the back.

"Okay...let's stay alert."

The next carriage brought more of the first kind of Shadow while the carriage after was filled with the sludge Shadows again. Ren snapped his fingers and filled them with Electricity but this too only hurt them, they still hadn't found this second type's weakness. He frowned as the other Thieves hurled elemental attacks from behind him, his jacket swaying gently in the wind. The Shadows disappeared before he could even get a second hit in.

"I was worried, but these Shadows are total trash mobs!"

"True. Hopefully that means their leader is too, but somehow I doubt that."

"Yeah, this could just be a ploy to get our guard down. Good point, Joker."

He smiled at his surrogate sister and opened the door to another swarm of sludge. He hurled fire at them this time, causing them to half-sink into the ground. "Yes!"

"You hit their weakness, Senpai!" Sumire ran in front of him and slashed through them with a single wide-sweeping attack from her Persona, with Morgana destroying the few survivors with a blast of wind. "Well done!"

"Well, it was only a matter of time, right?" He toyed with a lock of his hair as Futaba walked past him, rolling her eyes as she opened the door.

"Two rooms left, you guys! But there's something weird in the last one, so be careful!"

Tense again, the Thieves walked inside and were met with more sludge. With Ren exploiting their weakness again they were all destroyed in the blink of an eye. The team walked up to the final carriage.

"What's this..?" Ren opened the door of their own carriage and ran his hand over the glass of the next. The other side was covered by what looked like black and white rolls of paper. Yusuke leaned over him and tried the handle.

"It's unlocked," he pulled it back an inch. "It opens too." He looked at the others. "What do you all think?"

The Thieves all turned to Ren. After a brief pause, he nodded. "I think we're ready."

Yusuke opened the door. The group gaped at what they saw inside before Futaba yelled "Cover your eyes!"

* * *

On the other side of door, sitting at the back of the carriage was a feminine Shadow sitting against the door to the driver's cabin, yet she was still tall enough that her head almost touched the roof. She was topless, wearing only a loose robe over her legs. The letters 'B' and 'J' were written over her chest. The black and white paper from before were part of her hair, which was also stuck to the sides of the carriage. The 'sheets' covering one half of the room were white, the other black.

"'B' and 'J'...is this supposed to be a - " Makoto was cut off as the Shadow shrieked. Two tangles of floating hair appeared before 'her'.

"Queen?"

"Nothing, let's focus on the fight, Joker!"

"Right."

The smaller Shadows charged and Yusuke retaliated by sending a wave of ice out. It staggered them, but bounced off of their mistress, Gorokichi having to block them with his own body to protect the rest of the group.

"If ice is out..." Ren walked forward and called Zaou-Gongen, creating an inferno beneath the three Shadows. The smaller pair disappeared at once but the larger one merely hissed before sending a giant ball of ice at them. Yusuke blocked it again.

Two more hair Shadows appeared as the large one raised her hand, creating a ball of light that she threw down. Yusuke braced, but Ella materialized before him and kicked the attack away.

"Oh, Violet! You have my thanks."

She smiled. "No need, Fox-senpai! You've done so much for us after all!"

"Then allow me to continue!"

Yusuke summoned two smaller spheres of ice and hurled them one after the other at the small fry, letting Sumire attack their leader directly with two sharp kicks from her Persona. Ren burned the former away as the latter shrieked once more and exploded into fog. Sumire backed away.

"We knew this was coming, huh Senpai?"

"Yeah," nodded Ren.

The Shadow reformed into another woman, this one blindfolded and wearing a pink dress. However, the lower half of her body was simply a giant blue orb. The Thieves looked at one another before the new Shadow opened her mouth and let out a gentle, yet loud melody. They all covered their ears as their heads shook. Ren felt a presence in his mind, rifling through his memories.

"Singing such a beautiful tune yet invading our very thoughts?" managed Yusuke as he took a step forward. "Such two-faced behavior!" Another step. "I...have had quite enough of such people in my own reality!" He drew his sword and slashed the Shadow's stomach in one fluid motion. Its voice cut out and it lowered her head as if to look at him through the bandages covering her eyes...before black mist hissed out of her split abdomen, covering her body as it melted down and changed color to form a now familiar white light.

"Thanks, Fox." Ren wiped a faint layer of sweat from his brow and put his hand into the floating orb, pulling away "...a pair of headphones?"

"Well," Futaba walked up to the boys and scratched her head. "If she took the train a lot, I guess it'd make sense that she'd leave those behind at some point? Anyway, Fox...you wanna talk? Something tells me that last bit was more than just you being a weirdo Inari."

"...it's fine," he shook his head. "It was just a slip of the tongue. More importantly, didn't this particular Shadow seem...weak to you?"

"Yeah, remember what I said about trash mobs? Sometimes if a boss uses loads of those it means he himself's gonna go down like a chump...oh yeah, President Okumura did that too, didn't he? Wait, I probably shouldn't talk about him like that."

"It's fine," said Morgana. "You didn't mean anything by it. But remember what Queen said before: if these larger distortions are formed in places that were important to Hanako, it's possible the strength of the Shadows may be affected by _how_ important they are to her. I mean, how often do you even remember train rides, anyway?"

"That's how I first met Senpai," Sumire whispered. Ren felt his cheeks turn pink so chose not to comment on it.

"You're right," said Makoto. Ren was thankful for her picking up the slack in the conversation. "Travelling is really something that just fades from memory once you reach your destination. Well, the Shibuya Underground became Mementos, but I don't think Hanako-san needs to worry about that particular distortion." She shook her head before continuing. "Regardless, I think you're right, Mona. Come to think of it, Joker, didn't you say you fought a Shadow at the train station too?"

He nodded. "That one wasn't very strong either. Mona's theory holds some water, but..."

"Then why did we have to fight such tough Shadows at the love hotel?"

Makoto facepalmed and Sumire squeaked at Futaba's outburst. Ren sighed but had to admit he'd been thinking the same thing. "Let's not judge her, alright? She has her own life and we're not here to pry into her private affairs."

"Senpai..." Sumire tugged at his sleeve. "You're making it worse..." Ren winced.

"...moving on," Yusuke watched the headphones disappear and Ren was thankful for the second time in that conversation for the sound of another person's voice. "If we all agree that this particular encounter was a simple one, shall we get moving? We still have no idea if these items have any practical use. Queen, you wanted to go back the school, correct?"

"R - right, yes." Her cheeks flushed, she tried to exit to the platform but the sliding door before them refused to open. She sighed and grumbled "I guess we're taking the long way then..." and led the Thieves to the other end of the train and down to the open square. There, Morgana transformed and the team clambered aboard - Futaba wearing a smug grin on her face the whole time - before he took off.

* * *

The team landed outside the school, the time they spent in the air enough for them all to calm down. The school's entrance was still blown open, though there were no signs of any more Shadows from inside or out. "So Queen," Ren turned to her. "What was that idea you had?"

"Oh, well...the odds of us finding the right house here are slim, so I thought we could try looking for student dorms. I admit it's still a gamble, especially if the street signs are still blank..." she shrugged, but Futaba beamed and pumped both fists.

"No, that's clever! This place is fancier than most colleges, so I'm sure it's got a dorm or three. We just have to look for them, right?"

"Yes, I was hoping you or Morgana would detect something if we got near them, even if it was just another Shadow for us to fight. Of course, this all hinges on her actually living in one..."

Morgana smiled too. "Hey, it's still worth a try, right? I missed having the two brains of the Phantom Thieves with us." He backed away from the others and turned into a car. "It'll be easier to get a closer look at them if we drive, right? Get in!"

* * *

Their enthusiasm faded after what felt like hours checking every nook and cranny of the area around the school, their morale hampered further by their needing to hide from the occasional scouting party of Shadows. It didn't help either that despite defeating the Shadows at the school, the signs around it were still blank, meaning they were 'forever driving blind' as Futaba put it. Even stumbling upon the spot the first three had fought the tank Shadows only served to show them how far they had been wandering with nothing to show for it as both Makoto and Futaba - who looked up from the essay she had started typing on her laptop once the former parked on the wide expanse of grass - dismissed the apartment complex as 'too good looking' to be for students.

A few more dead ends later, Futaba slouched on the dashboard. "I'm boooooooored..."

"Then why don't you do more homework?" Ren was surprised to see that even the mostly-calm Yusuke had a large vein throbbing on his forehead.

"I did it all already!" Makoto sighed and pulled Morgana over, to which the ginger-haired girl asked. "What, did we find anything yetttt?"

"I pray that you have, I fear I'm starting to hallucinate."

"I'm sorry," Makoto laid her chin atop the wheel. "We need another tactic. We haven't even seen one of the large Shadows yet. Even if we didn't find anything important, at least we'd know we were still on the right track..."

_The right track, huh?_

Why did Ren feel like they were forgetting something? "Think!" he hissed to himself.

"Senpai?"

He turned to her, but she shook her head. He smiled, grateful to her leaving him to his own thoughts. Their current theory was that the Shadows appeared in places important to Hanako, but were they overlooking something? He ran through their previous battles in his mind.

"The dog..." He muttered. He sensed Sumire's eyes on him but kept thinking. If Hanako passed through the station every day, it made sense that she'd feel some attachment to the square. Then came the tank. They'd fought it in park...but now that he thought about it, that had just been a coincidence. After all...

 _The only reason the tank appeared where it did was because I'd made a racket there by destroying one of its underlings!_ He looked at his girlfriend as he thought aloud. "So maybe the tank represents the streets in general?" Sumire looked confused for a moment before nodding, her mind filling in the gaps left by his unspoken reasoning. It always surprised him how intuitive she could be when she wasn't flustered. It probably came from her ability to analyse the motions of people and animals to inspire her own routines. "Next was..."

He shook his head. He didn't want to think too hard about the next two Shadows, so moved onto the school. That one was obvious. If it was indeed her own school then she would undoubtedly have strong feelings associated with it, good or bad. That just left...

Everything slotted into place at once and he raised his head.

"Of course!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters have now reached the double digits! I know I said this before, but thank you so much for all your support and comments, they all mean SO much to me! I hope you all stick around for the full length of this story. Thank you all again!!


	11. Chapter 10

"Senpai?"

"The train!" He looked at his team and realized they were all staring at him - Futaba and Yusuke had even stopped in the middle of a playfight, hands frozen against each other's faces.

"The train was running," he elaborated. "So that means the Palace's influence extends to the train tracks at the very least. But what if it went further than that?"

Morgana spoke up, his voicing coming out of where the radio of a normal car would be. "Wait, so are you saying the entire mainland is also part of her Palace? But that's where we enter the Metaverse each time and we've never seen a Shadow there, remember? Not once!"

"Yes, but think about it. All we ever do once we arrive is get into you and fly here or land and immediately go back to the real world. We've never spent more than a few minutes there at any one time; it's possible we just kept missing them. And according to our theory, the Shadows appear in locations important to Hanako-san, right?"

"Yes," said Makoto. "But...it's a train, she wouldn't be emotionally invested in it, would she?"

"Not emotionally, no. But if there's a Shadow on it it means she used it a lot, right? What if she _really_ used it a lot, like 'at least once a day' used it?"

Futaba groaned. "We'll have to search the _entiiiiiiiire_ country at this rate!"

"Grow up, Oracle!"

Futaba was about to talk back when Makoto raised her hand between her and Yusuke. "Actually, I don't think we have to. Joker, if you're really suggesting that Hanako took the train to school every day," Ren nodded "then it's possible she lived near the station, so that means we only have a small space to search. Great thinking!"

Futaba turned to face the front of the car. "I guess we oughta try that, huh?" She sighed, then slapped her cheeks, turning her head to reveal a wide grin. "Okay, no more moping around. Let's fly...literally! Queen, get us to an open road so Mona can take to the air. That intersection we passed a few minutes ago would do, right? Go go go!"

Makoto blinked at the younger girl's sudden change before finding herself. "Huh? O - oh right! Yeah, let's go!"

* * *

As Morgana flew over the bridge to the mainland, Futaba was quick to point out "And we were _just_ here too! I can't believe we wasted all that time!" Thankfully Yusuke was too tense to call her out on it, Ren smiled to himself as he saw Makoto breathe a sigh of relief.

Once they got closer to the station, Sumire held out a hand. "Over there!" The others looked to see a set of tall buildings a few streets away from it. "Those look promising," said Yusuke. "They're so plain and uninspired they remind me perfectly of my own dorms!"

"Um...Fox-senpai?" Sumire looked around, but the other Thieves looked away and scratched their heads.

"...anyway," Morgana broke the silence. "I'll go in for a bird's eye view before we do anything crazy, how about that?"

He closed in on their destination and Ren thought he saw some black dots on the walls of one of the buildings. He dismissed them as marks of old age, but the closer they got the more splotches he could make out, until...

"Guys, Shadows!"

The others leaned forward after Morgana's cry to see a mass of sludge-like Shadows crawling up the walls of one of the buildings Sumire had pointed out, joining the pile formed by those that had already made it to the roof. The Shadows melted together as they watched, forming a jumble of arms holding swords that only grew in number as more fused into them.

"What should we do?" asked Makoto "Back up?"

As if in response, the large Shadow hurled a sword at them. Morgana swerved to one side and sent his passengers tumbling to the floor, the blade just missing his propellers.

"Not an option if it knows we're here," groaned Ren, easing Yusuke off of him. "Mona, drop us off on that roof!"

"Got it!"

* * *

Morgana hovered a few metres above the Shadow. Ren slid open his door and jumped, landing in a crouch. As he stood his fellow Thieves landed beside him one by one. He looked up to see a nervous Futaba slide out and immediately form Al Azif around her. Morgana turned back into his regular form and landed beside the others. The Shadow waited for him to do so before brandishing its swords. Ren noticed one of its hands held a blue mask.

"How gentlemanly of it to let us prepare first," Yusuke drew his sword. "We'll make it regret it!"

He, Sumire, Morgana and Ren locked blades with three of the Shadow's swords while Makoto jumped on her bike, pushing off with her foot as she mowed through two of its arms before skidding to a halt on the other side of the roof.

"Calm down! Don't drive off!"

"I know, Oracle!"

"We don't need another cow-head situation!"

" _I know!_ " Makoto drove a circle around the Shadow, firing away with her revolver. The arms she'd shredded had regrown but she shot them off again. A single bullet pierced the Shadow's mask and its entire body shuddered for a second before it lashed out at the other Thieves again.

"The mask!" she shouted. "Go for the mask!"

Yusuke and Sumire leaned into their blades while Ren backed up. Yusuke parried the creature and slashed just below its blade, cutting off its wrist. But another hand and sword simply burst out of the stump and attacked him again. Morgana also cut through an arm and swiped at the Shadow's mask, but a new arm grabbed his back and threw him away before materializing a sword of its own. Ren called on Arsene and struck the Shadow with a Curse attack but it did nothing. He let out a curse of his own as Makoto drove by, grabbing an arm and ripping it away with her, balking as it wriggled in her grasp before throwing it away.

"This thing's like a hydra!" Futaba shouted. "If you cut off one arm, another takes its place!"

"Then what do we do?" Sumire backed away and looked up at the UFO.

"Makoto's right, we need to go for the mask! If you can hold the arms down somehow..."

"I got this! Diego!" Morgana summoned four golden fists that shot forward. The Shadow blocked them with four swords, its arms wriggling as it strained itself. Makoto jumped off Agnes as she drove past, grappling another to the floor. The remaining Thieves ran forward and dodged the three arms that flew out. Yusuke tried to grab one, but it escaped his grasp and threw him into Ren. The two young men collapsed in a heap of limbs.

"Joker-senpai! Fox-senpai!" Sumire looked back at the Shadow, only to see it throw Makoto away and slice through the four magic fists. Sumire bit her lip and charged, calling Ella. A swarm of blades surrounded the Shadow and sliced off all its sword arms, though they regrew an instant later.

"Violet, what are you doing?!"

"Trust me, Oracle-senpai!" Sumire kept running and reusing the same ability, yet those same arms kept reforming and lashing out at her. She dodged each and every swipe. Ren got to his feet but could only watch in awe as she skidded and pirouetted closer to her prey.

 _She's so..._ graceful _!_

Ella dismembered the Shadow once more and Sumire dived, rapier outstretched as its stumps wriggled. Ren broke into a run as new arms gushed out around her...

...just as she pierced the Shadow's forehead.

Its half-formed limbs spasmed, then fell back like the petals of a wilting flower before the Shadow turned into fog around her. She spluttered and Ren held out his arms to grab her, but she'd already backed away. She heard him though, turning to smile at him before letting herself fall into his grasp as she continued to clear her throat.

"Violet...that was amazing!"

He could make out her pink cheeks from behind her mask. "Well, I couldn't let it hurt you, Senpai..." she breathed.

"Guys!" came Futaba's voice. "It isn't over yet!"

"I didn't think so," Ren sighed and the couple backed away as the Shadow solidified. Its new form was humanoid with black armor but a golden helmet and wings attached to its ankles and the backs of its hands.

It shot forward. Ren barely had time to raise his knife before they collided, sending him skidding to the edge of the roof as the Shadow soared into the air. It curved upward before diving for a second pass. Ren looked ahead of it. The Shadow's next target was Yusuke, whose back was turned as he ran towards his leader. He tried to warn him but his breath caught in his throat.

" _No!_ " Futaba shouted. Yusuke turned just in time to see the fiend inches from him, but a green barrier sprouted around him just in time to bounce the Shadow onto the floor. "Get 'im!" she yelled.

At such close range, Yusuke could slash the Shadow with his own blade before summoning an ethereal one to blast it away with Gorokichi. Makoto attacked next, tossing it into the air with an atomic explosion before Ren and Sumire fired streams of Curse and Bless energy, so close together their attacks merged into a two-toned beam. The Shadow was thrown over the edge of the building, but this only meant it could soar even higher once it regained its senses.

"Oh no, you don't!" shouted Morgana as it swooped down for a third attack. He buffeted the Shadow with a blast of wind and it spun away, almost like a cartoon, before crashing into the roof once more. "Wait...did I do that? Yes! _Finally_ , something weak to Wind attacks!"

"Don't get cocky, kitty!"

Makoto ignored Futaba's shout, instead jumping on Agnes and blasting the Shadow into the air with another atomic blast. It regained control of itself and shot sideways, rolling out of Morgana's next attack and flapping its wings, sending a torrent of flame down. Most of the Thieves dodged, but Yusuke took a direct hit, falling to his knees.

"Fox-senpai!"

"Fox, stay still!" Morgana ran to him and cast a healing spell as the Shadow curled in the air for another charge. Ren ran in front of them and held his arms out as if to protect them.

"Senpai?"

 _Wait for it..._ he told himself as the Shadow got closer. _Wait for it..._ The Shadow had almost reached the roof. It was halfway there...almost on top of him...

"Now!"

Norn appeared mere inches from the Shadow's face and blasted it with the strongest Wind attack Ren could muster, the Shadow hit the ground and rolled, bouncing every time its wings hit the concrete until one hit the edge of the roof and it spun into the air, rolling higher and further away.

"Mona, smash it!"

"Huh? Right!"

The cat ran, calling Diego at the same time and summoned his largest wave of wind yet. The Shadow was still dazed as the blast hit it and shot it down. It struggled against the assault, but without a chance to recover there was nothing it could do but plummet faster, faster, faster...

_CRASH._

The road caved in around it in the impact. It tried to raise its arms out of its crater, but it could only raise them a few inches before they fell by its side. The other Thieves - including a now-grounded Futaba - walked up to the roof's edge to join Ren and Morgana in looking down at its final struggles.

"Wow..." murmured Makoto. "That was some amazing teamwork, you two."

"Thanks," Ren toyed with a lock of his curly hair. "I got the idea from you though."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You know, the 'cow-head' incident."

She flushed. "Oh, stop it..."

They watched as the Shadow's remains turned into white mist and floated up, but this time Ren glowed as well. The other Thieves stepped back as he looked over himself. Five blobs of white light separated from his aura before it faded, combining with the mist that had just arrived before them. However, the resulting sphere looked just like all the others. Ren turned to Morgana and Futaba.

"I know we didn't send a calling card, but...this isn't the Treasure, is it?"

Both shook their heads. He sighed. "I guess that'd be too easy." He stuck his hand into the orb and grabbed the object within.

And froze.

"Senpai?"

"What on earth..."

He pulled out a pistol.

"Uh...guys?" Futaba looked around. "Why does a teenager need a gun? Don't tell me she's some sort of sleeper agent child soldier super assassin and we'll unleash her onto the world if we cure her amnesia?!"

"You read too much fiction," sighed Yusuke. "Still, why _does_ she need a gun? This seems to be the most important item of them all, considering even Joker's body lit up the way it did."

"Oh yeah..." Morgana looked him up and down. "...I knew it. Joker, I can't sense any of the other things we picked up any more."

"I thought so." Five lights, five previous rewards. It made sense but Ren couldn't help touch his chest pocket. He took a closer look at the weapon. It was a dull silver with black leather on both sides of the handle. Both pieces of leather had a gold and blue oval painted on. He turned back from the roof edge and took a few steps towards safety, the others following him. "Does anyone else have any theories about why I'm holding a gun right now?"

"Hey, you can't ignore me like that!"

Makoto ignored their Navigator. "Well...what if this is related to the accident that gave her amnesia? She may have been caught up in a robbery or something and...and was hit by a stray bullet." She shuddered, but her eyes burned when she looked back up. "How despicable..."

"Hmm..." Yusuke nodded. "Even if the injury didn't do it, I'd imagine the experience alone would be traumatic enough that she'd want to forget it. If this weapon indeed caused her amnesia, I...I'm not sure if I want her to recall something so..." he shook his head. "No. This is the sort of thing we fought Dr. Maruki for, is it not?"

Ren gave him a sad smile before turning to Sumire. "What do you think?" He handed the gun to her. She turned it over in her hands.

"Objectively, I...I think it's best for her to remember. B - but...this is too sudden!"

"May I?" Sumire turned, surprised, to see Morgana raise his paws. She gave him the gun and he too examined it from all angles before nodding. "I thought so. This one feels a lot more tangible than the other items we've found." He held it up to Ren and he took it.

"What do you mean, tangible? You mean it's not gonna turn into light once we stop talking about it?"

"More than that," said Futaba. "I think what Mona means is that it'll exist even outside of the Metaverse."

"Like Jose's star?"

"Yeah, Inari. Exactly!"

"Model guns are risky enough," said Makoto. "But hiding a real gun is something else entirely..."

"Hey, maybe it's actually something for us to use?" asked Futaba. "You know, maybe there's a super dangerous boss Shadow somewhere and this is the only thing that can hurt it? It looks your size, Joker, why don't you give it a try?"

"Huh..." It did feel comfortable in his hand, now that she mentioned it. He held it up to the horizon and aimed at a cloud. It felt comfortable as a weapon too. Hopefully it hadn't been used on...

"Hello there."

The group whipped around to see a familiar redhaired woman close the door of the roof exit behind her.

"Hanako-san?!"

"No, look closely." Ren held Sumire's hand. She took a deep breath and did so, noticing Hanako's bright golden eyes as she approached them.

"Oh, so you're Hanako-san's Shadow."

"That's right." The Shadow gave them a slight curtsey. "You're so kind to the other me, I should have known you'd be here as well."

"Do you live here, Hanako-san?" asked Makoto. The Shadow shook her head.

"I don't know. I was wandering around and just..." she shrugged "felt the urge to come here, I guess."

"Oh. Then, do you happen to know where we are?"

The Shadow shook her head.

"Um..." Sumire bit her lip. "Hanako-san, do you know why we're here?"

"Still no. I'm so sorry, I'm not being very helpful, am I?"

"Not to worry," said Yusuke. "It's not your fault. I hope you don't mind, but do you recognize this?" He pointed to the gun in Ren's hand. Futaba hissed.

"Inari!"

But Hanako just smiled and held out her hand. "May I?"

Not knowing what to say, Ren handed it to her. She looked it over, aiming it at the horizon as he'd done as well. Suddenly Futaba's theory that she was an assassin didn't seem so farfetched...

"I'm afraid not," said Hanako after a few more moments. "It looks beautiful though, but I feel like it's missing something..." she rubbed the side of the barrel with her thumb. "No idea what, I'm afraid!" She giggled as she handed it back to him. "But I get the feeling my other self should have it."

"Will it give her her memories back?"

"Hmm. I don't know, but...hmm." She flashed an awkward smile. "I just think of her holding it and it feels... _right_ somehow, you get what I mean?"

"I'm sorry," said Futaba, stepping forward. "But the real Hanako doesn't know what's happening in here. We can't exactly just say 'Hey, Hanako-san, we found this lying around and it reminded us of you, so here: have fun!' ...no offence, but that'd be a bit weird."

The Shadow giggled again. "I suppose so, I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"Don't be!" Now it was Morgana's turn to step forth. "If you think it'll help, we'll do it...though Oracle's right too..." he rubbed the back of his head. "By the way, do you know where your Treasure is? That's the best way of helping her."

"My...Treasure? Um...I assume that means something important to me?"

"...yeah. Uh...well, this is weird. I thought all Shadows knew what their Treasure was..." Morgana spoke as if to himself, but he was still loud enough for Hanako to hear.

"Oh. I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid I can't really think of anything that I'd call a Treasure. I don't think there's anything even remotely valuable here either. I guess I'm a pretty terrible Shadow, huh?"

"Please don't say that!" Sumire stepped forward, but Morgana interrupted her, though he still seemed to be talking to himself more than anyone else.

"But...that makes no sense! There _has_ to be a Treasure here, otherwise this place can't even exist!"

"Wait a second..." Makoto beckoned the Thieves to her. "Um, Hanako-san? I know this is rude, but is it okay if we have a minute to ourselves?"

"Of course!" The Shadow smiled as Makoto took the Thieves to the edge of the roof again.

"Our current theory is that this Palace was born from her grief, right?" she whispered once the Thieves huddled together with Morgana balanced on Ren and Yusuke's shoulders. "Then could Hanako-san's Treasure be herself?"

"You mean like with me? Then...what, should we take the Shadow back home with us? Or bring the real Hanako here?"

"I don't think that's it," said Morgana. "Even in Oracle's Palace I could still sense a Treasure, but here I can't feel anything stronger than the vague feeling I've been getting since our first visit here." He glanced at Ren and Sumire, who nodded.

"So does that mean we need to change her cognition?"

"But how?" Sumire asked the brunette.

"Indeed," added Yusuke. "There's no obvious barrier for us to pass here."

"Maybe we need to learn more about her," said Ren. "It's possible we simply don't know enough about her to even recognize a barrier."

Everyone nodded, though Ren heard Sumire mumble "But doesn't that mean we're letting her down?" Her squeezed her shoulder as Hanako's Shadow walked up to them.

"Are you done with your little talk?"

"Yes, apologies again." Makoto bowed but the Shadow held out a hand.

"It's fine, really. I hope you decided on...whatever you wanted to talk about?"

"Not exactly," Ren looked back at his team. "But we have an idea of how to proceed."

"Wonderful!"

"Thank you so much for talking to us today, Hanako-san." Sumire bowed. "I promise that we'll do our best to help both of you."

Hanako smiled and nudged the younger girl upright. "Thank you, Sumire-chan." She addressed the group at large. "I hope you find a way to give that to my other self too. Until we meet again, then. Good luck!" She walked back to the door and slipped inside. The Thieves looked at each other once more.

"Well..." Ren muttered, rolling his shoulders. "We should get going too. Shall we?"


	12. Chapter 11

_Saturday, 5th May_

The Thieves planned to visit Hanako in the afternoon as they always did to avoid rousing her suspicions, which gave them the morning to explore her Palace again on the off-chance that they could find the Treasure without her.

And explore they did, from both the air and on foot. The station was completely normal. The train had remained there since they fought the Shadow aboard it but it too was perfectly normal, as were the bicycles and silver motorbike still parked by the station square. The Thieves found a strip mall behind the station but it was normal as well. They found an actual mall and split up to investigate the individual stores. They was -

"Lemme guess," Futaba groaned as Ren and Yusuke trudged back from the arcade. "Completely normal?"

"Completely normal," sighed Ren. He looked around to see the others return, also with frustrated expressions.

So too was the school, despite the Thieves searching it from top to bottom. They drove around the island before flying to the dormitory. They searched it too. Despite being in the part of the Palace occupied by cognitions, it was deserted with its lounge and bedrooms in immaculate condition.

"It's more like a hotel than anything," Makoto muttered.

The only two exceptions were on the third floor. One room was completely empty - "Maybe this is a storage room?" Yusuke thought aloud - and another that had been converted into what seemed to be a lab.

"Ooh, this is _my_ kinda place!" Futaba beamed as she spun in circles at its centre. Her eyes glistened as she looked around even as the others left, prompting Makoto to sigh and duck back inside.

"Please concentrate," she said, dragging a pouting redhead out be her upper arm.

The fourth floor held a single, large meeting room and a narrow stairwell to the roof. The Thieves walked out into the bright sunlight and looked at each other.

"And with that...we've retraced all our steps," Yusuke sighed. "Searching the rest of the mainland will be torture. Is there truly nothing we can do without talking to Hanako-san?"

Futaba groaned and sank to her knees. Instead of chastising her, Makoto sat down and leaned against her. Yusuke and Morgana dropped to their haunches too and even Sumire seemed unsteady on her feet. Ren sighed.

"She said she was wandering around yesterday, so I was hoping we could find Hanako-san's Shadow at least," he thought aloud. "I was betting on us finding something in this place too, but nothing. I think you're right, Yusuke. We should call it for now."

Makoto nodded from her slouched position. "Yeah. Why don't you and Violet go alone? It'll feel too much like we're interrogating her if we all go and start asking personal questions."

"Right. I admit I'm worried about you guys too," Ren looked at his human companions. "Golden Week ends today, so - "

"Tomorrow's Sunday though," said Futaba.

"I volunteered to help at my college, so they'll still expect me back," said Makoto. "Though I suppose I could say I fell ill over the break and get an extra day or two that way."

"How devious for an honor student," Futaba cackled. "That's what I'm thinking of doing too, by the way."

"Only if it takes that long for us to steal her Treasure, I trust?"

"That's for me to know and you to never find out, Inari."

Ren chuckled and turned to his girlfriend. "What about you, Violet?"

She thought for a moment. "Well, Coach Hiraguchi really likes the facilities here, so she'll probably say yes if I ask if we could stay here a few more days. I doubt Shujin would be happy, but I learned long ago that they don't really care about me." She wrinkled her nose. Ren thought he knew what Sumire was referring to and smiled.

"You've grown quite the rebellious streak. No wonder you make a great Thief."

She smiled. "I learned from the best...Morgana-senpai!"

Ren smirked. "I'm flatter - wait, what?" Ren and Morgana both gave her surprised looks at the same time while the other Thieves laughed.

* * *

As planned, Sumire and Ren went to Hanako's home alone. She was ecstatic to see them, but frowned to see they were alone.

"Where are the others?"

"They're...busy," said Ren after sharing a glance with Sumire. "They're packing up for tomorrow."

"Oh right, they need to be back home by tomorrow, don't they?" Hanako turned away for a moment, but smiled as she looked back up. "Well, there's nothing to be done about that. Come in, come in!" She stood to one side, closing the door behind them. "What about you, Sumire-chan? Don't you have to pack too? Or have you decided to move in with loverboy over here?"

Both teens blushed, Sumire moreso, yet she still managed to answer. "I'll still be training tomorrow, Hanako-san, so I don't need to worry. Besides, Senpai is going to help me pack, so I can start later than the others anyway." Ren nodded. He hadn't actually offered yet, but Sumire deserved to get a few digs in at his expense with how much he liked to tease her.

Besides, he was going to offer his aid anyway - now he just knew to play hard to get when the time came.

"Well," Hanako's voice brought him back to the conversation. "Just make sure you're the one packing your own clothes, alright?"

"Um..." Sumire thought for a moment before blushing again. "O - of course I will!"

Hanako chuckled as they reached the living room and she sat them down. "Good. I'm just checking."

She left the room, only for Sumire to run after her when the older woman asked what they wanted to eat from the kitchen. The boys could hear her insisting she help and Hanako trying to fend her off and shared a smile. A few minutes later a bemused Hanako led her back into the living room, both carrying small plates of snacks and fruits. Ren helped himself to a protein bar and handed Morgana an apple.

"Well, what brings you here?" asked Hanako, biting into a banana. "Or do you just want to keep a lonely little lady company on this warm spring day - oh, that reminds me: did you like your scarves?"

"Absolutely!" Sumire dug in her handbag and showed hers. "It's lovely and really well made! You could do this professionally, you know?"

Hanako blushed and scratched her cheek. "Oh, I don't know about that...I just had the urge to knit something one day and liked it. I guess I got lucky with my choice of hobby."

Ren cocked his head. "If you don't mind me asking Hanako-san, do you think you could have learned to sew before you lost your memory? I read an article on amnesia a few days ago: apparently amnesiacs still retain their motor skills - reading, writing, driving, that sort of thing - even if they can't remember how they learned it all."

Hanako smiled. "I've heard that too. I'm afraid I can't answer that for you though. It's certainly possible I was the daughter of a seamstress in my old life or something, but..." she gave him an exaggerated shrug.

"You really remember nothing, Hanako-san?"

"I'm afraid not, Sumire-chan."

"Then...what are your earliest memories?" the girl asked. "What was your high school like?"

"Well..." Hanako stretched. "I was lucky enough to be found close to the start of the academic year, so I didn't have to deal with joining halfway through. If anything, I was just another transfer student like you two!" She smiled at them, though they found it hard to smile back. "But school was...hmm. As you said, Ren-kun, I still remembered how to write, how to do math, so I did well enough in my studies. However, I didn't have any friends - which is hard enough for regular transfer students, right? But I guess a student overheard the teachers talking about my amnesia and spread it, so that quickly became my defining trait. I just had people asking me if I really didn't remember anything. Some kids said they were going to 'test' my memory and did dumb things like throwing a bunch of numbers at me and asking if I could recite them all, stuff like that." She scratched her cheek again, but this time she wasn't smiling. "Thinking back, I think a few of them were genuinely trying to help in a clueless sort of way, but after a while I just...'checked out' of the high school experience. Not that there was much I could do about that anyway. Even if I wanted to join a club, I couldn't because I spent so much time getting tutored on all the stuff I needed to know from earlier education, though I think I told you two that part already."

Sumire nodded, her eyes red. Ren chewed his lip for a while. "You know, Hanako-san, my experience pales in comparison to yours, but I can at least relate to the 'being labelled' part. I think Sumire can too." The girl nodded.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. When I transferred to Shujin...it's a long story, but it wasn't exactly under the best of circumstances. My past got leaked too, so all anyone would see me as was a label - "

"I saw him that way too for a while."

"Sumire, it wasn't your fault. You said yourself that it was involuntary."

"I know Senpai, but it doesn't change the fact that I said such a thing to you..."

Ren just shook his head with a chuckle. "Anyway, Sumire was labelled as an 'honor student'. Everywhere I went, all I heard were people being jealous of her or heaping tons of expectations on her."

Sumire nodded. "I know it's a much more positive label than what either of you two had, but..."

"You still felt excluded," muttered Hanako. "I guess we're more than just fellow transfer students then. We're outcasts too!" She giggled. "Though I'm not sure if that's something to be proud of..."

"I think it is," Ren smiled. "All of our other friends are outcasts in their own ways too. It's what brought us together."

"Is that so? Then I think that's wonderful," Hanako finished her banana and threw it at the small bin in the corner of the room. She paused as it arched through the air and cheered when it went in. Sumire and Ren applauded her as she sat down. "Is there anything else you wanted to ask me?"

"That's not we're doing..." Sumire muttered, only for her next words to be "Um...where was your high school?"

"Where? It was in the middle of the city, like any other."

"Oh, so...it wasn't on an island?"

Hanako stilled for a split second, frowning. "Um...no, not at all. Why would anyone build a high school on an island? Oh, or are you asking if my city was on an island?" She looked from one teen to the other. Ren didn't know if her freezing was significant or just her being confused by the odd question, but he could tell from her gaze that her own question was an honest one.

"Um, nevermind." Sumire shook her head. "I was just wondering if you were transferred to a special school. Was it really just ordinary? There weren't any interesting shops or anything nearby?"

"Hmm...nope, not that I can remember. As far as I recall it was just a plain-old school in a plain-old district."

"I see...do you have any favorite shops or clubs now, though?"

Hanako cocked her head. "I wouldn't say so. The place I buy my groceries from is right next to a cute sweet shop, but that doesn't sound like the sort of thing you'd be interested in, Sumire-chan. What's next, are you going to ask what my type of guy or girl is?"

Sumire turned beet red, so Ren leaned forward. "Alright then, what's your type?"

"Senpai!"

"Well, not being afraid to ask that gets you a point, Ren-kun!" Hanako laughed. "Um...I've never actually thought about it actually. I guess it'd be nice to have someone to look up to. You know, someone I can rely on, someone I know will always be there for me..." she licked her lips and glanced at them from the corner of her eye. "A role model who doesn't mind me cuddling up to them, basically."

"But...that's Senpai!" Sumire shouted before clapping her mouth shut as three pairs of eyes whipped to her. She turned bright red, but Ren couldn't tease her because he could feel his own face heating up as well. Hanako looked from one to the other and smiled.

"In that case, Ren-kun, if you have an older brother or sister, I'd be flattered if you could introduce me."

"Uhh...sure." Ren forced out a chuckle and felt his body cool down. "You said you like staying home, but are there any other places you like to be from time to time?"

Hanako's lips still smiled but her eyes stopped. Ren winced internally as she replied. "I'm afraid not. I sometimes look out at the park nearby on my way home from the shops, but that's about it. I feel safer here. I think I told you that too."

"...yeah, you did. I'm sorry, Hanako-san." Ren stood and bowed, but Hanako simply laughed and stood too, pushing him back into his seat.

"It's fine, you were curious, I get that. I'd probably do the same thing. In fact I'm sure I would. I'm sorry I'm so boring! You know, talking to you really makes me realize how much time I spend in here," she looked around the room, chuckling to herself as she returned to her own seat.

"Um, there's nothing wrong with that, Hanako-san!" Sumire leaned forward. "Even if you spend all your time here, you accomplish so much! You're an amazing chef, an amazing seamstress...you made Morgana-senpai that adorable scarf after seeing a dog outside just once..." she froze, eyes wide. Both women spoke at the same time, Hanako pointing to Ren's bag.

"Did you just call him Morgana- _senpai_?"

"Hanako-san, do you have a favorite time of day?"

Sumire blushed. "I...um..."

"It's part of her charm," Ren offered. Hanako giggled and Sumire sat back, still embarrassed but relieved that she was off the hook.

"Well, I suppose it is. As for your question Sumire-chan, is that really something you want to know about me?"

She nodded. "Yes! Everyone has a favorite season or time of day, right? For example, I enjoy the evenings. Things are different while I'm here, but that's usually when I finish practice. I've been doing very well with my routines this past year, so I usually leave my practices feeling fulfilled and get to spend the rest of the day relaxing with that feeling. It's very nice."

"You mean you don't feel fulfilled with me?"

"S - Senpai!" Sumire pouted, but Hanako laughed. She beamed from one to the other and the teens smiled back, relieved to see her fully smiling again.

"Fair enough. I don't have a favorite season really, but I _love_ nighttime! It's so peaceful then. It's dangerous too, I know, but I like to just look outside the window sometimes. You know, to take in the cool air and see people or cars or animals go by. Oh, I especially like staying up past midnight!" She giggled. "I know it makes me sound like a kid, but it's a little magical to be up right when the date changes, isn't it?"

"Yeah...yeah, it is." Sumire glanced at Ren, her eyes wide. Ren in turn exchanged looks with Morgana.

"Oh, and what's your favorite time of day, Ren-kun?"

"Me? Oh, well it'd have to be any time I'm with Sumire, of course."

" _Senpai..!_ "

"Haha! Well said!"

Hanako held out a hand and Ren high-fived it. Sumire's blush only deepened.

* * *

Neither Ren nor Sumire could think of any more questions to ask Hanako, so after exchanging more pleasantries and helping her tidy up - something Sumire almost shouted at Hanako again for after she tried to refuse their aid - they bid their farewells and left. Sumire took out Hanako's scarf and toyed with it, a wide smile on her face.

"I think that went well, don't you Senpai?"

"Yeah, I really think you're onto something."

"I hope so!" She beamed and her eyes widened a fraction as a thought occurred to her. "Um! If I'm right, can I..."

And just like that whatever high she was riding on collapsed and she turned away, a familiar blush spreading across her face.

"...what?"

"N - nothing! What do you think, Morgana-senpai?"

"Hmm...you think the cognitive barrier is the time of day, right?"

"Yes! We've searched her Palace top to bottom and she just said she didn't have any favorite places to go to, so time's the only thing left, right? I'm just glad she didn't have a favorite time of year," she sighed. "What a relief!"

"Yeah, but that's genius! You know, it really helps to have someone who isn't used to how we do things in the Phantom Thieves. It means we get a fresh mind and ideas whenever we need them. Don't you agree, Joker? Shall we go ahead with this?"

"Of course!" Ren patted his girlfriend on the back. "Attagirl, Sumire." She blushed. "I'll let the others know. We should probably get some rest too: we have a long night ahead of us. Oh, and I don't mean to presume, but do you think you should cancel your practice with Coach Hiraguchi today? Your endurance is crazy, but we were already in the Palace once today. I know we were just walking around for the most part, I don't want you to hurt yourself."

She nodded. "I was thinking that too. I hope Coach understands."

"I think she will, she seems the understanding type. You'll probably have to do two of every exercise to make up for it tomorrow though."

She winced. "You're right..." she shook her head. "But it's totally worth it, Senpai!" She beamed as she took out her phone and dialled Hiraguchi's number.

* * *

Once night fell, Ren, Sumire and Morgana snuck out of his home, walking through the moonlit streets.

"The world looks so... _beautiful_ like this, Senpai..."

"Not as beautiful as you."

" _Senpai!_ "

Ren chuckled and looked at the almost black-and-white world around them. "I get why Hanako-san likes this time of day so much."

"Yeah... I wish...I wish she wasn't so afraid of going outside like she is..."

"Sumire..." Ren pulled her to him and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Hey," said Morgana from Ren's other shoulder. "That's what the change of heart is for, right? All we need to do is steal her Treasure and she'll be better before you know it!"

"...right! Oh, and thank you Morgana-senpai!"

"About time I get some respect around here!"

The trio laughed as they walked past the now-familiar park and down Hanako's street to the alleyway where Yusuke and Makoto were already waiting for them. Futaba arrived at their meeting point ten minutes later at a quarter to midnight and looked at the other Thieves in their jackets, clutching their scarves. She chuckled, wrapping her own scarf around her neck. "Well, this is appropriate attire, I reckon. This had better work by the way, Ren. I'm giving up my beauty sleep for this!"

"I'm sure it will," Makoto patted her shoulder as Yusuke opened the Nav and tapped the bookmark.

Once in the Metaverse, Morgana turned into a helicopter. "Ooh, it's _way_ chillier than I thought it'd be in the city. Hurry up, get in already!"

"Right!" They clambered aboard and shut the door as quickly as they could, sighing as the warmth of Morgana's interior filled them.

 _Isn't it supposed to be spring in the Palace too?_ Ren wondered.

Morgana took off as everyone joined Futaba in donning their scarves. The Thieves looked out at the world beneath them once he reached peak altitude.

"I don't see anything weird yet," said Futaba after a few minutes in the air.

"Must you be so pessimistic?!"

"It's called being _real_ istic, Inari!"

"Oh, just shush the both of you!"

Ren chuckled as Futaba and Yusuke fell silent at Makoto's words and checked the time on his phone. While the former was right that nothing had happened yet -

"We still have time, Oracle-senpai," Sumire beat him to the punch. "Hanako-san also said she liked being up at midnight."

"I know, I guess I'm still cranky." Futaba sighed. "Queen woke me up too early."

"I'm sorry, but I told you to set an alarm - "

"And I did! I told you I just needed five more minutes!"

"Yes, on _three_ separate occasions!"

"But I would have been fully recharged if I'd gotten up when I wanted to! I'd have fully completed a REM cycle!"

"That's not how sleep works!"

Yusuke leaned towards Ren as the girls bickered. "I was worried about the cost at first," He whispered, "but tonight made me glad I had a separate room from those two."

* * *

It took a few minutes to reach the train station. The group looked at the still-empty square in front as Morgana began his descent.

"Everything's just as we left it this morning," Futaba sighed, but she shook her head. "But we just gotta stay positive, right?"

Just as the words left her mouth, space itself seemed to distort around them. The Thieves looked at one another, confused at the strange hue now coloring their faces. Ren looked outside the window to see the same sickly green light pouring in from the night sky, the roads beneath them seeming pitch black from the long shadows cast over them.

_Wait a minute..._

Ren looked into the distance and froze. Sumire noticed, then followed his gaze. Her own jaw dropped, but she still managed to utter a warning.

"Morgana-senpai, go back up...go back up right now!"

Her words stirred Ren from his stupor as it attracted the remaining Thieves. He pointed out the window, drawing their attention to the horizon.

And the giant, grotesque tower that lay upon it.


	13. Chapter 12

Morgana rose back to his initial height and made a beeline for the tower, his passengers watching in silence as he drew closer and closer. They saw the sky fill with twisted, black clouds as they went, as if to match their emotions. Within minutes they were close enough to see the base of the massive structure.

"It replaced the school..." Makoto muttered. "I wonder what happened here?"

"Maybe that's where she had her accident," said Futaba. "I mean, I'd have a pretty messed-up opinion of my school if something bad happened there."

"But if she collapsed at the school, wouldn't it have been easy to identify her once she woke up?"

"Well, _something_ definitely happened here, that's for sure." Morgana interjected as he hovered over the path leading to the former school. "Joker, there are some crazy strong winds up here so it'd be dangerous to go any higher. Sorry, but I think it'd be safer to just go in from ground level and get our bearings that way."

"Do it." Ren patted the inside of Morgana's frame as he landed just inside the school gate. The Thieves got out, craning their heads to examine the tower as they walked towards it.

"Wow Senpai, my neck hurts just looking at it!"

"Yeah..." the tower was even more monstrous than he remembered. Random parts of buildings jutted out of it at what seemed to be random intervals, some so warped they looked like fangs while others dripped what looked like...

"Blood?" Sumire gripped his arm for a few seconds for relaxing. Ren knew exactly how she felt. He looked over the rest of the tower, realizing the giant lights he'd seen in his dream were actually giant, watch faces complete with smaller dials counting seconds and 24-hour time...or at least they would if they weren't all broken.

He looked at his feet, rolling his head from side to side to alleviate the strain, but Futaba shouted, pointing forward.

"Guys, something's coming!"

The Thieves looked at the entrance to the tower. Contrary to the structure's hellish appearance, the entrance seemed almost heavenly. It was a giant, pearly white gate atop a short but wide set of stairs - Ren was reminded of Greek architecture - with five pillars on each side, descending in height the further they were from the tall double doors in the centre.

A figure stepped out from the shadows beyond the rightmost pillar and continued ambling toward the marble steps. Even from here Ren could tell she was dragging one foot in front of the other. Her shoulder-length hair hung loose around her hung head. Sumire called out to her.

"...Hanako-san?"

The Shadow turned at the sound, her expression confused before her golden eyes focused. "Sumire-chan...oh, it's you and your friends again. How can I help you..?" Even her words were stretched out, lethargic.

"Are you okay?"

"Violet, step back." Morgana hopped in front of her. "Something's very wrong with her."

"Yeah," said Futaba. "Be careful!"

Sumire looked at each of their navigators with sad eyes, but did as they said. "Hanako-san," she called out. "I'm sorry. Were you nearby when this place changed? Is the school still okay in there?"

"School? I...I can't remember," Hanako's Shadow took a step towards them. "I can't remember...anything. I'm...so alone..."

"That's not true! Hanako-san!" Sumire stepped past Morgana but Makoto grabbed her arm.

"Violet, please! It's hard for all of us, but please think this through!"

"But I can't just leave her...Senpai!" She locked eyes with him. After a split second, Ren nodded.

"I'll come with you. Just...be ready to run, okay?"

She beamed, eyes watering as she nodded. Makoto bit her lip, but let her go. The pair walked towards Hanako and she walked to them. The remaining Thieves exchanged glances before following the couple, staying a few steps behind. Both parties met in the middle of the path and Sumire took the Shadow's hands in her own.

"You don't have to be alone, Hanako-san. Do you remember where your Treasure is now? If we take it, we can help you feel better!"

"Treasure..?"

"I hope it's not at the top of the tower," Ren heard Morgana mutter before he stepped forward. "It's a giant, floating white light that materializes when we send a calling card. Have you seen anything like that?"

"I...I don't think so. I'm so sorry..."

"Nothing we can do about that." Ren adjusted his sleeves. "That's alright, Hanako-san. I don't know if we can search this whole thing in one night, but we'll try and cover as much ground as we can. It could get dangerous though; do you have anywhere safe you can stay for the night?"

"Hmm? I...don't remember that either." She chuckled. "I really am useless, aren't I? Without my memories...I can't do anything..."

"Hanako-san, that's not true..." Sumire squeezed her hands again.

"What's going on?"

The Thieves and Shadow turned to see a second Hanako. This one wore a nightgown and was leaning on her knees, gasping for breath. Ren looked beyond her, but it was too dark to make out anything more than a glimmer of silver in the distance.

"Hanako-san? What are you doing here?!" Sumire looked from one Hanako to the other as if unsure who to comfort.

The real Hanako took two deep breaths before standing up straight. "I stole a car - "

" _What?!_ "

"It's probably fine - "

"Uh, how long have you been standing there?" asked Morgana.

"I just got here. But what is this place? Who is _that_?!"

She pointed at her Shadow, who sank to the floor.

"Even my other self doesn't recognize me..."

"My other self?"

"Hanako-san..." Sumire compromised, placing one hand on the Shadow's shoulder and reaching out to the real Hanako with the other. "We're inside your mind right now. This is your...your other self. She's a part of you."

"A part of me?"

The Shadow looked up as Hanako walked over to them. "I'm everything you hate, aren't I?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm hopeless. While everyone else was busy having friends, I had nothing. While everyone else went to the movies, had part-time jobs or dates, I had to relearn everything I needed to know to fit in with society...and even here, in a world created from my own thoughts, I can't do anything. Even when these kids are going out of their way to help me, I just..."

"Shh...it's okay..." Sumire hugged her.

"What...what's going on here?" Hanako stopped a few metres from them, looking from one person to the next.

"Have you heard of the Phantom Thieves?" asked Futaba. "They were a group a bit over a year ago that changed the hearts of corrupt adults and - "

" - and reform society. Yes, I've heard of them...wait. Are you saying..?"

"Yep!" Morgana put his hands on his hips. "That's us!"

"So...you're here to - what was it again - 'steal my heart'? Um...did I...do something wrong?"

"No!" Sumire half-shouted at her. "You did nothing wrong. But you were just in so much pain that we wanted to help you. Your...your..." she searched for the right word.

"Shame," offered Ren. She nodded and continued.

"Yes, exactly! Your feelings about your amnesia have become distorted; isn't that the real reason you're too afraid to leave your home? If we take them, we can help you feel better about yourself!"

"Really?"

"Yep! They did something similar to me. I couldn't even leave my room before I met these guys, but now look at me!" Futaba waved her hands in front of her, grinning.

"I...see. So," Hanako wiped a stray tear from her watering eyes. "So...you all came to this weird world...for me?"

Morgana took a sharp breath and turned to the other Thieves, but Sumire had already opened her mouth.

"That's right, Hanako-san. We want to help you, so we're going to steal your shame away!"

Morgana froze, but Hanako just swallowed.

"I see..." she said again.

He exhaled, but just then the Shadow screamed. Sumire jumped but tried to hug her, calling her name, but the Shadow spasmed and sent her sprawling on the floor. Ren dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around her as the Shadow continued to scream and contort in place. The real Hanako stepped back, hand rising to her mouth. "What - what's going on?" The other Thieves stood between her and her doppelganger as Ren helped Sumire to her feet, holding her hand tight.

"We don't know," he said. "Mona?"

"Don't tell me..."

"Mona..?"

Sumire slipped out of Ren's grasp as his attention slipped and tried to hold the Shadow's arms still, but Hanako's Shadow only jerked her limbs harder. Sumire held her tighter still, but the Shadow just screamed and glowed white. Sumire backed away, shielding her eyes.

"Mona-senpai?!"

"You explicitly told her we were going to steal her desires! That's basically a calling card! And if she's her own Treasure like Queen said...this is bad!"

"Oh no..." Sumire covered her mouth, but jumped back as the light intensified. Ren held her again as it became blinding...then turned pitch-black.

Tendrils of fog burst from the Shadow's body and shot into the air. Sumire and Ren ran to one side and Morgana followed them, leaving the other Thieves and Hanako in front of the Shadow as the tendrils spread, lapping at the earth as the black pillar billowing from their centre grew in size. Both groups backed further and further away as it grew wider and wider and wider until the tendrils folded back into its depths. Ren could make out glimpses of the tendrils spanning out and tangling together through the mist before it flowed over them as if covering them in skin, molding them into a solid body.

The result was four-legged creature. It was black and so skinny despite its gargantuan size that Ren could make out each individual rib. It had human hands for feet and a skeletal stag's head on one end of its body, but instead of a tail had a small bull's head on the other. The stag faced him, Sumire and Morgana. The bull faced the others.

Both heads roared. Ren held an arm up to cover his face as he felt the beast's raw power surge over him.

"Get Hanako-san out of here!" He yelled to the Thieves currently defending her. He placed a hand on his mask. "Let's do this, Arsene!"

Arsene created a shadowy forest around the beast and prickled vines burst from the earth and lashed at it, but didn't even flinch. Ren cursed as Sumire called her own Persona and launched an Orb of holy light and the creature. It too did nothing. Ren looked over to see Futaba drag Hanako back as Makoto and Yusuke ran forward, hitting the giant Shadow with an atomic blast and the fierce slash of an ethereal blade respectively. Morgana summoned four giant fists, but the creature simply ducked to one side, dodging all of them. It then roared and threw one of its feet out at Ren, but Sumire ran in front and repelled the foot with a storm of shining swords. She fell onto her hands and knees from the sudden effort, but Morgana held her arm, filling her with healing magic. Ren saw Al Azif take flight from the corner of his eye and felt strength surge through him. He chose to call Yoshitsune next. The resolute, ancient Japanese general appeared beside him and stabbed the ground, summoning eight blades that slashed through the beast. It took a half step back, but that was all one of Ren's mightiest attacks did to it. He grit his teeth.

* * *

Hanako watched the teenagers and the little black creature run around. She saw Makoto manifest a golden bike at times before giant blue spheres detonated beneath their foe. She saw the others summon giant spirits to fight it, from Sumire's beautiful bride to the little one's almost-cartoonishly muscular swordsman. Ren in particular seemed able to summon many spirits. For one attack he summoned a black version of Jack Frost. For another he summoned a large, shirtless, purple man. For yet another he summoned a metallic blue dragon. The teenagers darted this way and that. In between their attacks, they also coated each other in pale blue mist of the beast in purple light. The triangular UFO Futaba surrounded herself with did something similar from time to time, always flying in a sharp circle in the air just before the teens were coated in multi-colored lights that seemed to temporarily boost their energy. But for all their attacks and spells, the most they could do was force the beast to take the occasional step back, even as they themselves got slower and slower as the battle progressed. She watched as Ren took a direct hit from the bull's foreleg. One of the stag's horns threw Sumire into the air when she ran to shield a dazed Makoto. Yusuke was blasted away by a beam of fiery red light and rolled into the shadows.

_They're doing this...for me?_

A tear crept down her cheek. Followed by another. And another. The teens were hit, hit and hit again but they kept getting back up. The battle continued. Their movements got even slower, but at last even the beast seemed to sag.

Then it crouched and howled, surrounding itself with deep red and black fog. The teens looked at each other then charged. She heard Ren roar as he summoned a giant blue-and-white colored man who created a sweltering inferno beneath the beast, the heat of which she felt even standing so far behind them all. Sumire and Yusuke's spirits flew in and struck the now-silent beast with rapid kicks and sword slashes. Makoto summoned a swarm of blue spheres around it and detonated them all. Even the small creature jumped up and called four giant fists attached to the air by green springs. All four shot forward, punching the beast in both heads and flanks.

All of them bent over, gasping for breath before surrounding the beast in a second volley of multi-colored lights, so bright Hanako had to look away. Surely this would be enough?

But darkness burst through the colors, turning the world black as waves of energy flooded out of the beast. The teens braced but all were thrown back. Even the UFO wasn't safe; a stray blast destroyed it, sending Futaba falling to the earth where she joined her friends in rolling to a stop around the older woman. They kids were so bruised, cuts coating their faces in blood. They were all taking such ragged, ragged breaths...

A glint of light drew her eye to Ren.

Or rather, to a patch of grass behind him. Something had fallen out of his pocket when he'd rolled to a stop in front of her. She looked at the beast and it in turn looked at her with both of its grotesque faces. Both heads bared their fangs at her.

 _Are they..._ sneering _at me?_

She grit her teeth and took a step forward to pick up the silver object before her.

"A...gun? Wait..."

Something stirred within her. She turned the... _thing_ over in her hands. The more she did so, the stronger the feeling became. She heard Ren and the others drag themselves to their feet, spluttering as they did so. She looked at them. They forced themselves to stand up straight, but they were all wheezing. The beast was clearly worn too, but if it came to a test of endurance there was no denying who would win...

She sniffed, swallowed and bit her lip.

* * *

"Is everyone okay?" Ren shouted. A series of 'Fine!'s and 'Good to go!'s answered him. He smiled, then let out a quiet splutter. He punched his chest, then touched his mask. "Then let's keep at it. We're almost done!" The Thieves braced themselves and he mentally cycled through the Personas at his disposal as the beast roared at their act of defiance. Several white lights sparked into existence above its stag head. He grinned and ran forward. His team followed him.

" _Stop!_ "

They all skidded to a halt. Even the beast stopped, its four eyes narrowing as if intrigued by the intrusion. As one, they turned to see a red-haired woman with tears in her eyes.

"Everyone...please. Just...just stop." She started walking towards. "This is my fault. It's...all my fault. I'm weak. I know I am." She walked through their party, looking directly into the Shadow's stag eyes. "If you really are another me, please. You know the only one you should blame for our terrible life is me. I'm...I'm such a coward. None of these children should have to suffer because of me."

"Hanako-san..." Sumire ran forward as Hanako passed her, but the older woman just smiled and held up her hand. "But that's not true!" she shouted.

"You're so sweet, Sumire..." Hanako shook her head. "But it _is_ true. I was so afraid of the world...so please, let me do this." Sumire half-raised her own hand as her lower lip quivered but Hanako just kept walking, looking back at the Shadow. "If you need to be angry at anyone...be angry at me."

She was within swiping distance of the Shadow now. The lights above its head solidified into thin arrows and aimed down at her.

"Hanako-san..."

The older woman looked back at them, tears flowing freely now. "I'm...so sorry, everyone."

Sumire ran, but her wounds caught up to her. She collapsed into a heap but immediately held out her hand. "Please don't..!"

"I'm so, so sorry." A glint of white alerted the Thieves to the gun in Hanako's hand. She pointed it at her head.

Sumire screamed.

She kicked off from the earth into a clumsy sprint, reaching for the blurry figure before her watering eyes.

"Kasumi, no!"

The gun fired.


	14. Chapter 13

Sumire fell to her knees as Hanako's head jerked from the impact. Ren clutched his own skull as he stumbled forward. He heard Makoto and Futaba shriek. Yusuke and Morgana covered their mouths.

...but instead of blood, glass flew out of the other side of her head, surrounded by a blue haze. The mist and shards spiralled into the air around Hanako and ignited, surrounding her with sapphire flames. Sumire tried to stand once more. She barely noticed her senpai helping her up as she watched the inferno spin higher and higher into the sky. She sensed the other Thieves dragging themselves to where she and Ren stood, but still her eyes could not stray from the pillar of light.

As quickly as they'd erupted, the flames dispersed.

Hanako stood tall, a long spear in her left hand. Her right still held the silver gun to the side of her head. But above that head...

Sumire's mouth opened, but she couldn't find the words to ask her question.

A translucent humanoid figure floated above the older woman. From here, Sumire could just make out that it was robotic: it had thick blocky shins with thin metal thighs, but she couldn't see the rest of the being's body clearly because of the giant, heart-shaped... _thing_ fixed to its back.

But she could hear the feminine voice that boomed from it, a voice that seemed to reverberate through her very being.

_"Thou art I... And I am thou... From the sea of thy soul I hath returned... I am Orpheus, mistress of strings..."_

For a fleeting moment, there was silence.

"...what?" Sumire breathed at last. She watched as the translucent figure pulled the giant heart off of its back, revealing several strings running vertically down it. It shook its long, flowing hair loose and ran her fingers across the threads. She couldn't fully make out the tune, but strength surged through her body as soon as the being started playing. She looked at her hands, then to her surprised senpai. She saw the cuts on his face close up before her very eyes.

"I feel...better than ever..?" he muttered as he touched his cheek. A sharp cry snapped them out of their reverie. They looked up to see the beast's two heads wail as it fell to its knees. Hanako's creation continued to play and fill them with strength, but each note also tore black tendrils away from the Shadow and into the newcomer's body. Each absorbed strand seemed to sap away at the beast's strength, making it hazier as the musician's body became more definied. Sumire was able to make out shades of different colors now, though it was still too incorporeal to tell what those colors were. The beast stood again with another pair of yells, but its knees trembled.

"Sumire-chan! Ren-kun! What do we do now?"

Ren grinned. "Let's end this with a bang. Keep the music going, Hanako-san!"

"You got it!"

He beckoned Sumire and the other Thieves. "It's Showtime!"

They all cheered and ran forward with him. He touched his mask and Arsene spun through the air, delivering a fierce kick to the side of the Shadow's bull head. Ella followed suit, kicking the stag head then spun in the opposite direction to kick it again. Morgana sent a blast of wind at the Shadow, strong enough to raise its bull legs momentarily and Makoto summoned a giant sphere of atomic energy beneath its feet and detonated it, raising it higher and spreading thin cracks across the earth under it. It fell, only for its chin to crash into Gorokichi's shining blade. The beast howled and the bull half of its body collapsed. Its other head screeched at them again.

"Oracle!" Ren clenched his left hand. "Give us a lift!"

"Huh? Oh, you got it, Joker!" Al Azif shot high into the air above the Shadow and Ren grabbed Sumire's waist with his right.

"Senpai?!"

He winked at her and fired his grapple, latching onto a gap in the UFO's metal plating before shooting into the air. He released the wire and tossed her in the air. Sumire realized his intentions at the peak of her flight and flipped over, smirking as he threw out a second grapple and slung her around his back. Futaba spun Al Azif in a small circle, making sharp turns to propel the pair outward as Ren opened fire on the Shadow, piercing its fading body with bullet after bullet after bullet. Once his pistol emptied, he tossed his girlfriend in the air one last time. She grinned, tearing through the beast's flank as she fell before running under and around it, slashing wherever she could, spewing black fog from each wound as she pirouetted away from each of its clumsy attempts at self-defense, moving so quickly those watching thought they saw two gymnasts dancing through the night instead of one. With a final flourish, she stabbed upward, piercing the stag's head through its jaw before tearing her blade away and spinning away to watch as it collapsed. With two final roars, its legs gave out. It crashed into the ground and wailed as it dissipated into a huge pillar of fog. She heard Ren walking up to her and turned, beaming.

"Senpai...we - we did it! I can't believe it, Senpai! I'm...I'm so _happy_!"

He could only give her a tired smile and wrap an arm around her shoulders. They watched the cloud pillar narrow down before breaking into a series of small streams of essence that shot out, curving through the air and into the musical being that had enabled their victory.

"Yeah..." he muttered.

They watched as the entity fully formed before them. Her earlier assumption was right: it was indeed a mechanical being. It had white arms to match its white legs, though it had a yellow torso with a hole in its stomach, covered by metal grating. The feminine-looking Persona - for there was no denying that that was what it was - wore a red scarf around her neck with eyes to match, framed by long orange hair. The Persona returned her heart-shaped lyre to her back before fading into the night. The Thieves looked down at the one who had summoned it.

"Hanako-san?"

"Hmm?" The woman lowered the gun and cocked her head. She wore a ribbon around her neck, behind which she could make out a pair of headphones. Beneath those hung the MP3 player. Hanako flushed at the many gazes lasering in on her, tapping her foot and tilting her head. She scratched her cheek with the hand that held her firearm and a faint ray of moonlight caught the left side of her face, illuminating the six hairpins affixed to her hair. Sumire frowned: why were most of them crossed over?

"Uh...hello?" Hanako asked again. "Earth to Phantom Thieves?"

"Oh!" Sumire started, then stepped forward. "Hanako-san..."

But whatever she wanted to say slipped from her mind as she took another, shakier step forward. "Hanako-san!" She broke into a run and jumped at the older woman, a surprised Hanako dropping both weapons so she could hug her. The others smiled as the two redheads embraced.

Then the earth rumbled. Hanako looked up. "What's happening?"

"We took the treasure!" Morgana ran away from the group and jumped, turning into a helicopter. "Everyone get in!"

"Huh? Oh, right!" Hanako watched the other Thieves run for the bizarre vehicle before following suit, picking up her weapons and hiking up her nightdress with the spare fingers of her gunhand so she could keep up with the lingering Sumire. Yusuke slammed the door shut once they were seated inside, at which point the younger girl wrapped her in another hug. The helicopter took off as they heard the ground rumble beneath them. Hanako waited until the helicopter reached a steady height before letting out a long breath. "Is that what every day is for you guys?"

"...no, this exceeds even our expectations," Yusuke shook his head before turning to her. He frowned. "Hanako-san...what is that?"

Everyone turned to her and she looked to where the artist was pointing. On her left sleeve was now a thin armband, a solid red save for two thin black lines, one a few centimeters from the top, the other a few centimeters from the bottom. She looked over the rest of her attire and realized she now had a belt complete with holster for her gun too. She slid it in.

"I have no idea..." she shook her head and laughed. "This is all so, _so_ strange..."

"We figured you or your Shadow were your Treasure - that's what happened to Futaba," Ren explained "but I guess you got something physical too."

"Actually," Makoto tapped her chin. "You're still wearing all the accessories you got before as well. I don't think any of us expected that. I wonder if you'll keep them in the real world too?"

Hanako looked herself over, still in a half-hug with Sumire. The younger girl reached out to her hair. "Is everything alright, Sumire-chan?"

"Hmm? Ah!" She pulled her hand away as though it had been shocked, and blushed. "I'm sorry! Um...your hairpins are crossed over. I thought I should...um..."

"Crossed over?"

"Yeah. Um...the first four are crossed over into...well, crosses. B - but actually, it looks unique, Hanako-san! I like it!"

"Unique? Not cute or clever? I can't tell if you're insulting me, Sumire-chan..." Hanako pouted. Sumire's eyes widened.

"I'm so sorry! I meant cute! I think they're really cute, I promise!"

Hanako laughed and ran her fingertips over the pins. "I see...I'll have to take a look at them when I get home; they sound interesting. Actually...that's the last thing I should be curious about!" she laughed again. "I was just curious about all the questions Sumire-chan and Ren-kun were asking me earlier today so thought I should follow you. I didn't think it'd lead to... _this_. I don't suppose you have time to explain everything to an old lady like me?"

"Um, you're not old, Hanako-san! You're so pretty!" said Sumire at once.

"Oh," Hanako raised an eyebrow. "So I'm not old simply because I'm pretty? For all you know I could be wearing a dozen layers of makeup. What would you say then?"

"Uh...um...y - you know what I mean..."

Everyone laughed. Ren looked outside the window as the world fell away beneath them as he heard Makoto speak up again. "We can explain everything once we get back to our world, if that's okay with you?"

"I'd like that. I'll treat you all to some hot chocolate. It's the least I can do after everything that's happened today."

"But - "

"No buts, Sumire-chan. Now it's my time to refuse to take a 'no' as an answer." She stuck her tongue out with a loud " _Eh!_ " Ren turned to see Sumire look away, pouting. Chuckling to himself, he turned his attention back to the outside world. They were above the mainland now, though the Thieves' attire would only change back after they landed in a safe spot if their previous excursions were any indication. Still, the sight of the world falling into the abyss was almost hypnotic despite how horrifying it would be if anyone were truly alive down there. He shook his head and looked at the shore. Even the ocean had drained away as if it were simply a giant bath tub with the plug pulled out. He looked further back...and froze. The two islands had crumbled away too.

But the tower was still pristine, almost glowing in the moonlight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came out a bit earlier than I would have liked due to some problems with my family. Hopefully there aren't too many typos and the like. Please let me know if you see any! This is another short chapter, but this should be the last one of those. As always, thank you so much for all your support, it really means a lot to me!!


	15. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we begin, I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind words after my last chapter. Whether or Reddit or on here, it really put a smile on my face. It's crazy how a simple "hope you feel better" can brighten your day :) 
> 
> That business was why this chapter is a little later than usual too, but I should be back on track from the next one onward. Thanks again, everyone!!
> 
> And I have an on-topic note too :P Something I should have said at the end of Chapter 12, honestly: The idea of Sumire delivering a verbal calling card came from the author Vellaen, who wrote the incredible story Masquerade on AO3. I highly recommend it if you haven't read it already!
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/24223858/chapters/58361314

_Sunday, 6th May_

Morgana found a stable patch of earth on the mainlaid to land on. The Thieves and Hanako ran back into the real world as the world crumbled around them and were assailed by the warmer night air of the countryside. Ren felt sweat dripping down his neck at once and clutched at his scarf. After a second's panicked struggle he was able to pull it off. He folded the warm material in his arms and saw the others do the same. Then he looked at Hanako.

"...oh."

She met his gaze and turned her eyes down, following his. "Oh my..."

The others also looked at her and saw that she still wore her ribbon, headphones and all the other accessories she'd gained in the other world over her silk gown, including the long spear she still held in her right hand.

"I guess Makoto-senpai was right about your clothes, Hanako-san."

"That she was..." Hanako adjusted her ribbon and smiled at the group. "How does it look: cute, right? Just like you, Sumire-chan?"

"Absolutely!" said Ren with a grin at the younger girl. She blushed right on cue.

"Senpai..." she blinked as a thought occured to her. She turned to the older woman again. "Um, Hanako-san, you said you...stole a car to find us before, didn't you? Could you...um, go into more detail about that please? And how exactly did you know what we were doing?"

"Oh, right..." Hanako looked away, rubbing the back of her head, but caught the other Thieves now giving her curious looks from the corner of her eye too. She sighed. "Well, as I said before, I was curious about all the questions you two asked me and I...sorta kept a lookout for you overnight?" She gave the teens an embarrassed smile. "Anyway, I saw Yusuke-kun and Makoto-chan walk past and - "

"You got spotted? You suck at stealth, Inari!"

"Why are you only blaming me?!"

Makoto sighed. "Futaba, it's your fault we were running late, you know?" Futaba pouted but fell silent, so Makoto turned to Ren. "The quickest route from our hotel to here goes right by her home; it's so close to it, after all. I thought, because it was so late at night, that we could risk it...in hindsight, I should have been more careful..."

"Actually...we kinda made the same mistake too," Sumire scratched her cheek. Hanako giggled.

"Yeah, I saw you two walking past too. It looked super romantic, but after seeing the others I knew you were up to something." Sumire's face scrunched up, to which Hanako added "It's fine, you couldn't have known I'd be up tonight as well!" Then she smirked. "Buuuut if you had to feel bad about anything, it should be for how obvious you two were about interrogating me. You were _so_ obvious." She poked Ren and Sumire's foreheads. Both yelped and Morgana snorted from beside Ren's foot.

"I'm sorry..."

"I told you, it's fine!" Hanako took over rubbing Sumire's forehead from her and continued the story "Where was I? Oh, right: I honestly thought you were going to throw a surprise party for me or something, so I thought it'd be funny to surprise you instead and I followed you. I ran around the other side of these houses and was waiting up there." She pointed at the far corner of the street from the direction of her house. "Once I saw Futaba-chan, I figured you were all gonna walk to my house. I was _going_ to follow you until you got to my door and spook you when you got there, but you kinda...disappeared instead."

"Yeah," Futaba let out an exaggerated sigh. "We do that sometimes." Hanako chuckled.

"Well, I ran over and...obviously I thought I was going crazy, but I tried stepping into where you were standing and I wound up in a city!" The Thieves nodded, prompting her to continue. "The only thing I could see at first was a helicopter taking off - oh, that reminds me!" She hit her palm with the side of her fist and looked at Morgana. "You can talk, can't you Morgana-chan?"

"Chan? I'm a boy, remember!?"

"Oh, that's right, my bad! You just sound so...nevermind." She smiled another silly smile and shook her head.

"You're...handling this very well, Hanako-san."

"Well, she's not too far off from how you handled it," Ren nudged his girlfriend. "Of course, you didn't even realize you were talking to a _talking cat_ until he reminded you about it."

"S - Senpai! You didn't have to say that part out loud..." She pouted.

"Well, after everything that just happened, a talking cat doesn't really seem too strange, that's all."

"Yes...yes, exactly! That's exactly how it was for me too, Senpai!"

Ren smiled and shook his head. "Let's go with that - "

"Senpai! I'm telling the truth!" She pouted.

He just chuckled. "Okay then." Before she could complain he turned to Hanako. "What happened next, Hanako-san?" The older woman was still beaming at Sumire when his words roused her. She jumped a little.

"Hmm? Oh, right! Well, I saw Morgana-kun take off. I was almost certain you were inside, but even if you weren't I figured I'd follow you since you were the only moving thing I could see. Actually, I tried shouting at you as you were going up. Didn't you notice me? I was waving and jumping and everything, I must have looked pretty stupid."

The Thieves looked at each other. "Um..." Futaba cocked her head. "Helicopters don't really allow for seeing or hearing things that are far away. You know, with the whole going up and ' _woosh, chop-chop-chop!_ ' thing they have going on." She mimed spinning propellers with her forefingers.

"...right. We were also a bit tense," said Makoto. "You see, we'd spent the morning looking for anything interesting in your Palace, so we were really hoping we'd find something this time."

"I see...given that talk with these two, I guess it had to be nighttime for whatever you were looking for to appear?"

"Yes," said Makoto. "Well, midnight specifically."

"Hmm," Hanako nodded. "I see. Anyway, I couldn't get your attention so I figured I could try and run to where you were going and catch up that way. So I did that for a bit until I saw a car go by and I thought 'Hey, I'm uncomfortable talking to people but right now I'm confused enough to ask the driver if there's anything interesting over there and if they'd consider giving a lost and bewildered but beautiful maiden a lift, right?' Well, the car stopped at a junction and I knocked on the window, but he didn't even notice me!" She pouted. "I looked through it though, and he looked really creepy..."

"Creepy?" asked Yusuke. "In what way?"

"Well...he just looked straight forward," Hanako tapped her lips as she thought back. "And he didn't emote at all. Now that I think about it, he just looked like some sort of realistic wax figure...anyway! He pulled over at a store to buy something and he didn't come out for a while, so..."

"...you stole his car?" Futaba raised an eyebrow.

"He was taking ages and everyone inside was just looking straight ahead and minding their own business! A - and it was own his fault for leaving the key in!" Hanako pouted again, looking from one Thief to the other as if expecting someone to commend her actions.

"I guess I was wrong about her having a good understanding of people before," Morgana whispered to Ren.

"Well, she did admit yesterday that she only people watches," he whispered back. Hanako gave up on a savior at the same time and continued her story with an exaggerated sigh of her own.

"Anyway, I followed you as far as the train station, but the trains didn't seem to be running. I couldn't find a schedule or pamphlet either, so I decided to get the car on the tracks and follow you that way - "

"You _what?_ " Sumire covered her mouth after her outburst and whispered "Sorry!"

" _How?!_ What the heck kinda proficiency do you even need to do something like that?!" yelled Futaba at the same time.

Hanako scratched her cheek. "Um...it was kinda scary how easy it was to do, actually. I just...drove through the fence next to the emergency exit. It was just barbed wire, so it wasn't sturdy at all. Anyway, I got on the tracks and drove after you. I guess I was pretty lucky there weren't any trains, now that I think about it." She chuckled. Ren couldn't decide if Hanako was brave or airheaded. "Anway, you guys probably know about the bridge right? Well, I think I got about halfway down it when all of a sudden the sky turned green and the engine just died. I couldn't restart it either, even after I looked under the hood!"

"At the same time? That can't be a coincidence, can it?" Morgana looked around. "The sky turning green and the school turning into a creepy tower are weird enough, but cars breaking down too? What kinda of cognition is that?" He looked around again and the Thieves all shrugged almost in unison. "Making vehicles stop working seems like such a random thing to do, so maybe it really was just a coincidence..." he muttered, seemingly to himself. "If not, it's a good thing I'm alive. That might be the only reason we didn't go down as well...wait, my apologies Hanako-san. Please continue, I didn't mean to interrupt a lady."

"Aw, what a gentleman..." Hanako bent down to stroke Morgana's head. He purred, sighing so quietly when she stood up that only Ren could hear. "I don't know either, but I had to run the rest of the way. Oh, speaking of, I think it _was_ just my own car breaking down, Morgana-kun."

"Huh? What makes you say that?"

"Because when I got to the station, I tried looking around for something I could use. There were a ton of bicycles lying around of course, but I also found this weird bike at the side of the road. And it worked!"

"So you stole a bike too? Why didn't you tell us you were so cool?!" Futaba's eyes were sparkling in the moonlight. "I bet you didn't wear a helmet either!"

Hanako scratched her cheek again. "Um...I don't think it's something to be proud of. Anyway, I followed you as best I could, but you had such a lead after the car broke down that I lost you for a while. I kept driving towards where I last saw you and eventually I saw that massive tower in the distance. It looked so creepy that I thought 'Well, everything here is so weird, surely if I go to the _most_ weird thing I can see I'll find the kids and/ or that helicopter too!' and...you said that place used to be a school? Well, I saw you talking to someone when I got to the gate so I left the bike there and tried to eavesdrop on you, but when I saw that that someone looked just like me, I...well, I kinda blew my own cover, didn't I?" She rubbed the back of her head and chuckled. "Anyway, you probably understand what happened next more than I do."

The Thieves looked at each other and nodded. "Well, we did promise to fill you in," said Makoto. "But is it okay if we do it once we get to your home, please? There's a lot to go over."

"Oh, that's absolutely fine."

"More importantly," Futaba adjusted her glasses. "How are you feeling? Emotionally, I mean."

"Emotionally..?" Hanako fell silent. The Thieves watched as she chewed her lip for a few seconds. "Well, I'm not entirely sure. I think I feel...lighter than I did before though. Does that make sense?"

"A little..." Futaba cocked her head. "I mean, we did just change your entire psyche, it'd be unfair to expect you to have a proper answer already. When they stole my heart it took me weeks to recover! Compared to that, you've only had..." she checked her phone. "Wait, _eight minutes?!_ "

The other Thieves checked their phones and their jaws collectively dropped. The time was just 12:08. They looked at each other.

"We definitely spent _way_ more than 23 minutes in there!" She yelled again.

"Shh! People are still sleeping!" hissed Makoto. "Still, I don't suppose our phones stopped working while we were in the Metaverse?"

"But that's never happened before," Morgana sat down and flicked his tail. "Maybe...maybe it was a part of Hanako-san's distortion?" He looked at her. "Sorry for talking about you like this, but maybe you felt like time stopped for you after you lost your memory and that manifested as actual time freezing every night?"

Hanako tilted her head. "Um...I guess sometimes I did feel like my life had ended when I was particularly moody. Did something like that really stop time? Wow..."

"That's a first for us too, to be honest," said Ren. "All Palaces are unique, but yours was...especially weird."

"Um, should I be proud of that? Was that a compliment?"

"I...don't know. We should probably get going though, we can explain everything that happened in depth once we're all comfortable."

"Yes," nodded Makoto. "And about the change of heart: Ren, you can check up on her regularly over the next few days to make sure she's alright, can't you?"

"Of course. Oh, and you can call me anytime, Hanako-san. I'll be here as soon as I can if you need me."

Hanako smirked. "You realize how flirty that sounds, right?"

Ren flushed. "Uh...I didn't - "

"Ha! Oh I know, I just wanted to point that out before that kind nature of yours got you in trouble somewhere else." She winked at Sumire, who also turned pink. "But wow, Makoto-chan. From the way you put it, it sounds like you, Yusuke-kun and Futaba-chan were in on this all along?"

"Um..." Makoto looked away. "Yes. Ren and Sumire told us what you were going through and we wanted to help. I'm sorry we went behind your back the way we did..."

"Don't be silly!" She scooped her, Yusuke and Futaba into a tight hug, eliciting three quick yelps. "Thank you so much for what you've done!" She let them go, eyes watering as they rubbed their arms. She hugged Sumire and Ren next. "And thank you two for being there for me since the beginning! I...I..." she choked up. "I'm...so grateful..!" She swallowed and picked a surprised Morgana up. "And you were there too, weren't you Morgana-kun? Thank you very much..." She nuzzled the side of his neck. He spasmed in her grip, trying not to laugh.

"Hey! You're welcome, but you're...you're tickling me! St - stop it!"

She only let him go after a final squeeze, but placed him gently on the floor when she did so, giving him a quick pat on the head. "Well, shall we get going now? Hot chocolate for all!" Hanako punched the air and everyone cheered, save Ren who just smiled at the silly grins on everyone's faces. He watched as she led the way to her house, swinging her arms in a parody of a soldier's march.

"Ren? You coming?"

"Of course," he said to his cat. He took out his phone again as the pair started to walk. "Only eight minutes, huh?"

* * *

Ren wondered if the others' earlier enthusiasm for hot chocolate was simply a symptom of their fatigue since as soon as they sat down they refused to let Hanako make some for them.

"I said I wouldn't let you refuse, didn't I?"

"Y - yeah," muttered Futaba.

"Besides, don't you all have to head home tomorrow? Think about it, you guys got some much extra time out of my Palace, shouldn't you be using that time to rest and relax?"

"That's true..." Yusuke frowned.

"But what about you?" asked Makoto. "It was _your_ Palace, shouldn't _you_ be the one resting and relaxing?"

"But I'm not doing anything tomorrow, remember?" Hanako stuck her tongue out. "Now, you all sit here and recharge while I hand out the good stuff."

"At least let me help, Hanako-san!" Sumire stood up, both fists raised and her expression hopeful.

"...well, I suppose I could use the help and I really don't want a repeat of last time." She winked. "You can really be a handful when you want to be." She marched out of the room, leaving an embarrassed Sumire in her wake with her jaw hanging open. After a second's pause, the younger girl shook her head band ran after her.

"It's finally over..." Futaba slumped on the couch once the other redheads were out of earshot. She rested her head on Makoto's shoulder, who wrapped an arm around her.

"Yeah...that Palace was crazy..."

"And that tower at the end," Yusuke closed his eyes. "What a peculiar structure. I wonder if there was a method to its madness. A mathematical formula, perhaps..." he started to chuckle. Ren shook his head, letting his friends rest.

A few minutes later, Sumire and Hanako returned with trays of hot chocolate for the humans and a small bowl of chopped salmon for Morgana, who began to drool as soon as it was placed in front of him.

"Ew, you disgusting kitty!"

"Shut up! You all get hot chocolate, let me have this!"

Futaba stuck her tongue out before taking a sip of her drink. "Ooh, this is delicious! Oh, but are you really okay having this, Sumire? Doesn't this mess up the whole 'gymnast's diet' thing you've got going on?"

The other redhead's cheeks turned pink as she took a sip and hummed at the taste. "Well...today's a happy day, Futaba-senpai. I'll just have to work extra hard in my next practice!"

"Oh my, I'm sorry if I'm making things worse for you, Sumire-chan. I have some fruit juice if you'd like that instead?"

"Oh, it's fine! My Coach expects me to do a lot of extra exercises in my next session anyway." She put on a brave face now, but Ren remembered how severe her wince had been when she'd first heard the news.

"Well...if you say so..." Hanako watched Sumire take another sip, but when the latter's smile stayed on her face she relaxed and looked at the group as a large. "It's fine if you're all too busy - I can just ask Ren-kun or Morgana-kun to explain it to me later - but may I ask you to tell me about this...'Metaverse', you called it? And what exactly _is_ a Palace?"

* * *

The group took turns explaining the various aspects of the Metaverse to her. She asked them to clarify things a few times, but overall Ren was surprised at how easily she digested everything - a far cry from how Ryuji and Ann had needed everything spelt out for them multiple times.

 _And even then it was a toss-up as to whether they understood any of it,_ he thought to himself with a smile.

Once the lesson was over, Hanako sat back. " _Wow_. To think there are imaginary worlds like that all around us...and you said you were fighting in places like that for a whole year?" she exhaled. "I can't imagine risking my life non-stop like that, especially at your age...you should be going to school! The toughest things you should be dealing with are exams! Dates!"

"Well, we dealt with those too," Ren toyed with his hair.

"Not all of us had to deal with that last one though," Futaba grinned. "Just those two." She pointed at Sumire and Ren. Both blushed, but where Ren chuckled Sumire hid her face.

"Futaba-senpai!"

Futaba just cackled. "Palaces aren't all doom and gloom, though. Sure, they're dangerous, but they can also be really exciting! You can go to all sorts of crazy places with them. Like, my Palace was a pyramid, one was a casino...ooh, ooh! The craziest one was a space station! It was like something out of a sci-fi movie!"

"Wow!" Hanako laughed. "So I guess that makes you like supernatural spies, right? Sneaking into all sorts of exotic locations to steal intel and hearts?"

"We prefer the term 'Thief'," Morgana licked his paw and scratched himself behind the ear. "...but I suppose that description fits us too. You know," he addressed the group at large. "I know you three are leaving tomorrow - uh, I mean later today - and Sumire'll probably leave in another day or two, but this was fun!"

"Yeah!" Futaba leaned forward and raised her feet to adopt her favorite sitting position after finishing her drink. "Minus the whole 'getting beat up and almost killed' thing, it was great meeting up like this! We should do this again next year - oh, and meet up for the whole week, not just half of it because Ren and his girlfriend got into trouble."

Everyone smiled at each other, including a embarrassed Sumire. "It doesn't have to be next Golden Week you know," said Makoto. "Why not this summer? The other Phantom Thieves are more likely to be free then too."

"Wait, there are more of you?"

"Oh, of course," Yusuke chuckled. "We never told you. I'm afraid there are some of us who couldn't make it here this week, but we'd love to introduce them to you. I'm sure you'd all get along splendidly."

"Ooh!" Hanako clapped her hands together. "I look forward to it! I hope you all get to see a much more positive version of me when the time comes."

"You're plenty positive already," Futaba adjusted her glasses. "Seriously, any more and you'll be bouncing off the walls...not that that wouldn't be cool to see."

Hanako blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Am I really that bad..? In any case, I'm sad you're all leaving right when it feels like I'm getting to know you for real, but knowing there are more of you for me to meet just makes me all the more excited for the next time you come over. I can't wait! Oh, and before I forget..."

She stood, looked everyone including Morgana in the eye, and bowed.

"Thank you so much for everything you've done for me. I truly can't thank you enough."

Everyone blinked, but Sumire jumped to her feet and tried to pull her back upright. "H - Hanako-san! You don't need to be so formal with us..!"

"Pot calling the kettle black, don't you think?" Futaba muttered, though she joined the others in smiling when Sumire succeeded and Hanako took her revenge by pulling her into her tightest hug yet. The sight almost brought them to tears...despite Sumire's eyes bulging.

* * *

The clock struck one and Hanako ushered the Thieves out of her house, telling them they had to sleep so they could leave on time. Ren wanted to ask why she - the one who appreciated their time together the most - was the one insisting they leave, but before he could form the words she looked him in the eye and stuck her tongue out at him.

"You all may know more than me, but I'm still the adult here, you know."

"Uh..." Ren blinked. Was he that easy to read?

The Thieves and Hanako waved to each other until the teens walked out of her sight. They continued to the end of the road together before they parted; Futaba, Makoto and Yusuke to their hotel, Ren, Sumire and Morgana to the former's home.

"I hope your family isn't too mad about us being out so late, Senpai."

"They're probably still asleep," he shrugged. "We'll be fine as long as we're quiet."

The couple walked in silence for a while until Sumire spoke again.

"I'm so glad we could help her. Even if we couldn't restore her memory, I'm just...it feels like a huge weight has just...flown off my shoulders, Senpai!"

"...yeah."

"...Senpai?" She stopped. Ren took a few steps before realizing and turned back.

"What is it?"

"You seem distracted."

He bit his lip for a second before he sighed and rejoined her. Morgana spoke for him as he dug into his pocket.

"We changed her heart, but I don't think we're done just yet."

"What do you mean?"

Ren held out his phone, opened to the bookmarks page of the MetaNav. She leaned over it.

"...what is that?"

There was a new entry, yet all three keywords were constantly glitching, appearing as ever-changing garbles of static and characters.

"I dunno," said Morgana. "We were confused because the app didn't say 'Destination deleted' like it usually does, so Ren checked it out as we were going to Hanako's house. Still, this doesn't make any sense...a Palace spawning another Palace? Even Maruki and the God of Control couldn't do something like that! I think this may be why the two of us felt so strange around her when we first met."

"What does this mean, Morgana-senpai?"

"Well..." his tail flicked the air "either her original Palace had another one inside it or she had two separate Palaces the whole time. Either way..."

"- but that...that doesn't make any sense!"

"Well, we thought it was impossible to have both a Palace and a Persona at first," said Ren "then Dr. Maruki almost took over the world. I want to know what's going on as much as you two, but..."

"What should we do, Senpai? Do the others know?"

Ren shook his head. "No, and I don't want to tell them either. I don't want to make things difficult from them on the day they have to go back. We should probably tell Hanako-san since this involves her mental state, but could you two keep this a secret from the others? Please?" He looked at the both of them. Sumire smiled.

"You're too kind, Senpai...but alright. Let's do this!"

"That's what I like to hear!" Ren faced forward as they started walking again, but a few steps later he looked back at her. "Oh, that reminds me."

"Yes?"

"Didn't you say you wanted me to do something if you were right about us needing to visit Hanako's Palace at midnight?"

"Huh? ...oh." Even in the faint moonlight Ren could see her face turn red. "Um...yes..."

"Well? What did you want?"

"Um..." she tented and untented her fingers, curled her hair, tapped her foot and looked anywhere that wasn't him.

"Do you want me to go on ahead?" asked Morgana. "I know the way back home from here."

"N - no!" Ren could practically see steam hissing out of her ears as she concentrated before sagging on the spot. "Oh, alright. Um, Senpai..?"

She leaned into his ear and whispered. Ren couldn't help laughing.

"Senpai!"

"I - I'm sorry! But seriously? That's all you wanted?"

"It - don't make it sound so small! But..." she finally met his eyes and nodded, her face still on fire "...yeah. And now's the best time for it too. You know...since no one's around to see."

"I guess so," he exhaled with a final chuckle. "Well, let's do it then. Move over, Morgana."

"Huh?"

But Ren had already crouched a little, turning his back to his girlfriend.

"Are you really okay with this, Senpai? Aren't you still tired?"

"Not at all! Besides, the house isn't too far from here, so it won't be too hard anyway. Just hurry up, already!"

"R - right!" Sumire put a foot on either side of his and wrapped her arms around his neck. She jumped, locking her legs around his stomach and burying her face in his neck as he stood back up.

"Woah! Sumire, that tickles..." Ren jerked his head away from her warm breath.

"Sorry..." her voice was muffled as she nuzzled his neck again. Ren mock-sighed as she cooed. Despite her apology she didn't seem to have any plans of moving her head.

"Wait...all you wanted was a piggyback ride?" Morgana went from standing on the tip of Ren's shoulder to lying down along the length of her arm, his legs draped over her back.

"...I was unconscious during the last one," she mumbled. Ren chuckled and Morgana sighed.

"Well, this isn't too uncomfortable, so I'll allow it. Just...be careful, Joker."

"Of course," he hooked his hands under Sumire's knees and nudged her head with his own. She giggled and pushed back. He smiled and felt the warmth of her body enveloping his.

" _Heh._ Hang on tight, you two."


	16. Chapter 15

The Thieves gathered in Hanako's home in the afternoon for Makoto, Futaba and Yusuke to say their farewells. The older woman thanked each with a hug and a small box of sweets (which made Futaba and Yusuke ecstatic). A few minutes of chatting later, those remaining in the town waved the three off from Hanako's doorstep, returning to Hanako's living room once they turned a corner and passed out of sight. Hanako poured three cups and a bowl of water for the group and they each sat down, sipping away.

"And just like that, it's all over, huh?" She muttered. Sumire and Ren exchanged glances, to which she leaned forward with a frown. "Am I wrong?"

The teens jumped before Sumire answered. "O - oh! You...saw that? Um...well..." She blushed and looked at Ren, who nodded with a faint smile. She nodded back, sitting up a little straighter as she continued. "We were going to tell you sooner, but everyone was here and everything was so cheerful just now that...you know."

"You're sounding an awful lot like a doctor telling her patient their operation failed," Hanako took another sip. "So. Did something go wrong? You said it's not normal for someone to enter their own Palace, right?"

"Don't worry, the change of heart worked," said Ren. "But you...somehow have another Palace inside you. Wait. Actually, now that I think about it," he took out his phone "this doesn't say your name, does it?" Hanako held out her hand and he gave it to her, the phone currently showing the MetaNav's Bookmarks tab. "The last time a Palace's details were hidden from us, it was because the Ruler didn't want us to find out who they were. But you _wanted_ help, so I don't see why your unconscious would hide from us, especially not after we already entered it."

"Hmm..." Hanako handed the phone back. "So you're saying you found someone else's Palace in my head?"

"Possibly. To be honest, we're not quite sure ourselves."

"I see..." She cracked her knuckles. "So, when do we start?"

"What?"

"We?"

"Hanako-san?!"

She looked at the three shocked expressions facing her and cocked her head. "Well, yeah? I mean, you told me because this involves me, right? Well, if I have the right to know, doesn't that also mean I have the right to help? It's _my_ unconscious, after all! Besides," she gave them a warm smile. "You've already done so much for me, I'd feel terrible if I didn't help you in return."

"Yes, but - "

"You remember I can fight too, don't you Sumire-chan?" She winked and pointed behind her shoulder to the spear resting against the wall. "And I even have one of those Persona things you do too. Oh! And let's not forget I totally helped you guys out this morning." She stuck her tongue out. The three Thieves looked at each other, confused. "Besides, you need the extra girlpower, don't you?"

"Well," said Morgana after a small pause "she has a good point. We literally just waved goodbye to half our team too..."

"Yes, but Hanako-san..." Sumire opened and closed her mouth a few times before she sagged in her seat, cupping her head in her hands. Ren patted her back. Hanako looked at the pair for a few seconds before speaking, so quietly Ren wondered if she was talking to herself.

"You really care about me, huh? Is it because I remind you of this Kasumi person?"

Sumire stilled for a few seconds, then looked at her. A rush of emotions flashed across her face: surprise, shame, sadness. She sat up straight, looking so tired all of a sudden. "I'm sorry for saying that before," she began. "Um...Kasumi...was my older sister. She...she died. Trying to save m - my life."

"Oh no...I'm so sorry for bringing this up - "

"It's fine!" Sumire swept the newly formed tears from her eyes. "It's fine, really. It happened over two years ago anyway." She forced out a laugh. "It was over two years ago but sometimes I just forget what happened or - or start hearing her voice... I'm crazy, right?" She sniffed.

"Oh..." Hanako got off of her seat and knelt in front of her, pulling her into a hug. "Sumire-chan..."

Sumire choked out a laugh as she returned the hug, pressing the side of her head into Hanako's. "I'm sorry for bringing this up. It's just that...you feel just like her sometimes. You're funny...you're bold...you make me so happy just being near you..." she giggled. "I'm sorry, that's such a weird thing to say..."

Hanako pulled back with a faint smile of her own. "I'm not that bold, you know. I'm still scared of going outside and all."

"But...you saved our lives..."

"Yeah," said Ren. "You even followed us into another world and stole both a car and a bike to do so, and all that in a nightdress to boot."

"Senpai!" But Sumire laughed despite herself.

"Am I wrong?" he echoed.

Hanako blushed. "Well, I'd call that being dumb or reckless more than anything...but I'm glad both of you have such high opinions of me." She patted Sumire's cheek and stood up. "If you'll have me, I'd be thrilled to join you."

The Thieves looked at each other, Sumire wiped her face dry. They nodded at each other and Ren stood up as well.

"It'll be dangerous, but if you promise to stay safe and listen to us, we'll be happy to have you. I'm sorry to make demands like that of someone older than us, but..." he held out his hand.

"Not at all, I understand you're just looking out for me." She accepted the handshake. "I accept." Sumire cheered and jumped up, pulling Hanako into a second hug. The older woman's eyes widened but she returned the gesture. Ren and Morgana smiled.

"Now that we have a new teammate," said Morgana "when should we go, Ren?"

"Why not now?" The girls broke from their embrace and looked at him. "The sooner we at least get an idea of what we're dealing with the better, right?"

"Oh, then I'll go get ready!" Hanako skipped to the door.

"Hanako-san?"

"What?" She turned to Sumire with a wry smile and motioned to herself. "If last night taught me anything it's that a nightdress, while super comfy, isn't really appropriate for your line of work." She disappeared into the corridor, leaving two embarrassed teens and a cat in her wake.

* * *

She returned ten minutes later in a black shirt and skirt combo, the latter falling to just beneath her knees. She complimented it with knee length white socks and brown shoes. She'd pinned her hair as it had been that morning and also donned the red ribbon, armband and white holster - complete with gun - she'd gotten in the Metaverse, with the headphones still in her hand.

"Um...Hanako-san? Are you sure that's appropriate?"

"Hmm?" She looked over herself. "Why not? This is one of my favorite outfits!" She twirled on the spot. "Besides, black and red? I may not have a mask, but now I can still match the two of you clothes-wise! Not sure if I should put these on too, but..." she looked at the headphones before shrugging and putting them around her neck, letting the MP3 player dangle in front of her. "Oh, and if you were worrying about whether this is practical, I'm wearing shorts underneath." Sumire blushed. "Besides, that other world was kinda chilly despite it being spring, so I figured I could get away with wearing all black."

"True," Ren nodded as Hanako walked across the living room to pick up her other weapon. "Oh, we should be careful where we use the Nav, so we don't get in trouble for taking that spear with us."

"Naginata."

"...what?"

"I looked it up before going to sleep," Hanako tilted the weapon and pointed to the tip. "The blade is longer than it would be on a spear, see? That makes it a naginata. Huh...it has a nice weight to it," she wobbled it in her grasp. "Really sharp too! I tried cutting an apple on this and it was super easy!"

"Wait, it's real?!" Morgana's hackles raised. "But the rest of our weapons are just fakes in this world! That means we should _definitely_ be careful taking that thing out in public!"

"Um, in that case..." Sumire tilted her head. "Why not go from in here? Hanako-san's Palace was based on her home and the new Palace appeared inside it, so we should be able to enter it if we act like we're going to Hanako-san's...right?"

"That's what I'm thinking as well," said Ren, toying with his hair.

"Hmm. That could work. And it's not like we're not hiding from Hanako-san anymore either," said Morgana. "Sorry about that, by the way."

"It's fine," Hanako smiled. "All for a good cause, right?" She took out her phone, opening her own copy of the MetaNav that they'd discovered that morning and scrolling through it. "Strange, I don't have anything here..."

"You'll get our bookmark after you go in with us," said Ren. Sumire beckoned Hanako closer so she could see Ren's screen. "Everyone ready to go?"

"Right!"

Ren caught Hanako double-checking her hairpins in the reflection of her blade as he pressed the button. Just as she finished running her finger over their odd arrangement the Nav activated, warping the world around them.

* * *

The quartet materialized on the marble steps leading into the tower. Ren looked around and almost stumbled from shock. He heard quiet cries of surprise from his team as they took in their surroundings as well.

Everything past the lowest step was...gone. The world of Hanako-san's Palace was just emptiness as far as the eye could see. Ren peered over the edge of the stairs but couldn't see the bottom either - it was all just an endless void.

"Well," he took a deep breath and regained his footing. "I had a feeling this tower would still be here, but now I'm _really_ glad I was right..." he looked up. The sky was still filled with dark clouds and strong winds, the green moon giving everything the same unnerving tint as before.

"This is...different from last time," muttered Hanako. "I was expecting more of those fake cognitive people things you were talking about at least."

"Me too," said Morgana. "This is bizarre. Palaces are always surrounded by a recreation of the vicinities of the real world equivalent, so what the heck does this mean?" He looked out over the abyss, taking in the planet's curve at the horizon, then shook his head. "Nevermind. All we have to do is infilitrate this tower, right?"

Everyone nodded and Ren climbed the steps to the double doors. He grunted and, with one big push, forced them open. He stepped aside for the others to enter, all three looking around as they walked in, before he followed. He considered closing the doors again, but shook his head. If anything went wrong, they'd appreciate the quick escape route.

He turned around. The doors led into a blue-floored corridor. He rejoined the Thieves with a quick jog and walked with them into a large circular room. In its centre was a tall staircase leading to a giant clock, with the space around the six cut out to form an opening. He examined the clock face and saw that the time was exactly 12 o' clock. He glanced at the smaller dials. They were all frozen; even the second hand was still.

 _Considering what happened before, this place is probably stuck at midnight too,_ he thought to himself. So the entrance at least was still connected to Hanako-san, huh? That made sense if he saw it as the connection between the two Palaces.

A flash of blue light on his left caught his attention. He turned to see a familiar blonde girl watching him. He walked over to her and felt the air grow thick around them. He looked back at his companions. Sumire was still looking at the clock, Morgana was about to ask him something and Hanako was taking in the room as a whole, but all three had were moving as though through treacle. Clearly Lavenza's words were only meant for him. He looked back at her worried expression.

"I see that not only have you stolen Hanako-san's Treasure, you've also recruited her to your team."

"Yeah...I'm sorry."

"It's...alright. You are only doing what you believe in." Lavenza shook her head. "I would try to argue, but I know what you'll say. So please, just...be careful."

"Of course." He gave her a warm smile. She returned it. "I know you're worried about something, but...Hanako-san's innocent, surely? All the Shadows we've seen so far have been upfront about their feelings, but hers was suffering. So why didn't you want us to help her, does this tower have something to do with it?"

"I - I'm sorry. I'm still not at liberty to say." She was quiet for a moment, then nodded to herself. "Still, I suspect your very presence has already set events into motion. If you follow them through to the end, you may..." She took a deep breath, then shook her head. "Thank you for listening, my Trickster. I may not have dissuaded you from your course of action, but please allow me to aid you as a resident of the Velvet Room should."

"Of course," he repeated. "It's good to have you back, Lavenza."

She smiled again, her cheeks tinged pink this time. "Yes...it's good to be back as well."

The faint pressure around him faded.

_We've already set events in motion, huh?_

"Joker-senpai?"

He turned. All three of his teammates were looking at him.

"Were you in the Velvet Room?" asked Morgana. He nodded.

"Velvet Room?"

"Yeah. While most people can only control one Persona each, Joker here has the ability to control multiple. But a Persona is a part of your mind, right? So the Velvet Room is a place only he can access that lets him get his head in order...I think."

"That's actually a pretty good explanation," said Ren. Morgana pushed his chest forward and grinned.

"So you're some hot stuff huh, Ren-kun? Oh, I guess I should call you Joker-kun in here? I noticed you were using codenames before too, but that does make sense for Phantom Thieves. Should I have one too?"

At the mention of the Phantom Thieves Ren noticed that, while he and Sumire had donned their Thief attire as soon as they entered the Metaverse, Hanako was still dressed as she had been in reality. "Huh," he thought aloud. "We get clothes based on our subconscious thoughts but...you don't, despite having a Persona already. That's odd...Mona?"

"I don't get it either. Maybe because this was connected to your Palace or because you're always so open to everyone, you aren't being perceived as a threat? Phantom Thieves are cooler...but I admit I'm a little jealous that you get to act so freely."

"Aww...I'm sorry, Morgana-chan!"

"Don't 'aww' me! I'm not cute, I'm cool!"

"Oh," Hanako stifled a quick laugh. "I'm sorry, Morgana-kun."

"That's better," he crossed his arms and sank back into thought. "Hmm. If you don't have a disguise, maybe it means you're not at risk? On top of representing our inner thoughts, our outfits protect us from the Palace Ruler's subconscious influence. That's actually the reason we use codenames too. But if you're immune, you don't need a codename, right? You're already safe."

"Hmm...but that's not fun, is it?"

"I agree!" Sumire clapped her hands together. "If Hanako-san wants a name, shouldn't we give her one? It'll help her fit in too, just as you all did for me!" She beamed, looking from Ren to Morgana and back again. Ren suspected that wasn't the reason she was so eager to give her new friend a codename, but just smiled.

"What should it be then? Maybe..." A moment's pause "'Lady'?"

"Why, because I'm older than you?"

"N - no!" Ren cleared his throat. "You're unique because you don't need an outfit, right? I just felt you'd like a fancy name to fit. Also, it's a mature one. I thought you'd like that too."

"So it _is_ about me being old."

"Senpai..."

"What? No, I..." Ren looked from one pout to the other before he exhaled and hung his head.

"Um...I like 'Ribbon'," said Sumire. "It sounds really cute! Oh, what about 'Lancer'? That one's so cool, don't you think?"

"I like those! Oh! And what about 'Maiden'? I think that's cute too and last I checked I still qualify as one of those to boot." Sumire blushed as the two males spluttered. Hanako winked.

"A - a lady can't say stuff like that!" Morgana half-shouted, to which which Hanako just hid her mouth and giggled, much like another redhead they all knew.

"Just putting it out there," she said in a singsong voice.

 _I...guess she didn't go to that love hotel then? But..._ Ren shook his head, derailing that train of thought. His timing was perfect as Sumire took that moment to speak up again.

"Um...that's nice too, but I think you deserve something cheerful Hanako-san, something that attracts attention just like you do! Something joyful, like a - a..." Sumire tapped her chin for a few seconds before breaking into a wide smile. "Like a 'Melody'! It was your music that saved us before, after all!"

"'Melody', huh?" Hanako thought for a moment before smiling back. "I like it! I love music, after all!" She tapped her headphones. "Can I be 'Melody', please?"

The boys nodded at each other, then Ren held out his hand. "Sure. It's a pleasure to meet you, Melody."

"Thank you, Joker-kun!" Hanako shook it, looking at Sumire. "So, that makes you..."

"Violet!"

"Hmm? Ah, that's your name in English, isn't it? How pretty! And you're Mona, right? Wow, even your codename is cute!"

"Grrr..."

Hanako chuckled and released Ren's hand. Relieved at how the conversation ended, he beckoned the others to him. "Let's go, Thieves!"

"Right! Lead the way, Joker! And for the record, I'm super jealous that all your appearances change in this world. I mean, you look so stylish Joker! And you..." She looked Sumire from head to toe, eyes pausing when they reached the lower half of her body. She frowned as she completed her circuit, but smiled when she returned to her face "you look so...beautiful!"

Ren suspected he knew what Hanako was thinking but kept the thought to himself, smiling with her as Sumire blushed. "Um, thank you very much, Melody-san! But you're beautiful too! And incredibly unique as well!"

"Oh, you're just embarrassing me..."

"You are unique though," said Morgana. "The way you call your Persona is so bizarre! I mean, shooting yourself in the head? That's crazy!"

"...oh, yeah. I suppose it is."

"You didn't even notice?!"

Hanako shrugged. "I guess not. I just did what I felt like...though I suppose I'm lucky I survived pointing a gun to my head and pulling the trigger," she giggled. "Oh, and you only said I'm unique, not beautiful. Why is that?"

"..." Morgana scowled "leaving that aside - "

"Actually, I have a question, if you don't mind." Morgana gave Ren a relieved look, but Hanako caught it in the corner of her eye and stuck her tongue out at him before giving Ren her full attention. "The mythological Orpheus was a guy, wasn't he? But your Persona looks feminine."

"Hmm?"

"That's right," said Sumire. "I heard the story in middle school once - "

"Same here."

" - the original Orpheus was famous for being a musician so good the Greek gods gave him a chance to retrieve his wife from the underworld," continued Sumire "but he failed at the very last second."

"Well, Futaba's Persona is a UFO," said Morgana "so it's not like Persona/ user gender mismatches are new to us. Still, having a guy turn into a woman to match you _is_ new to us, and strange to boot..."

"Is that so..?" Hanako touched the gun at her hip. "I don't why he came to me then, or why he became a woman. It's odd that you two know his story despite going to two different middle schools. I wonder if I learned about Greek Myths at one point too when I was a kid..." she fell silent, then slapped her cheeks. Two loud claps echoed in the large room. "No, let's not get wrapped up in that. No more negative thoughts! Come on, our adventure awaits!" She jumped onto the third stair of the path leading into the clock and pivoted on one foot to face them again. Her mouth opened in a perfect 'o' as a thought occured to her, then she stuck her tongue out through it. "Unless we want to go back to why Mona thinks I'm ugly?"

Morgana groaned while Ren and Sumire laughed. The trio joined Hanako on the giant staircase, taking their first steps into the Tower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your support! I hope you'll be just as kind moving forward too!


	17. Chapter 16

The Thieves walked through the large doorway...and paused.

"I didn't expect this," muttered Morgana.

They stood in a corridor with dull green walls. More green light poured in through the windows and onto the checkerboard floor, revealing numerous dark stains of various sizes upon it.

"It's a good thing we didn't bring the others," said Ren, tapping one of the walls with his knuckles. "We'd all be tripping over each other with how narrow this place is, especially Makoto and her bike."

"Yeah...I guess we should look around, Senpai?"

"Right. Be careful, Melody-san."

"Isn't that a mouthful?" Hanako smiled, but her eyes were darting all around, taking in the walls and the other corridors branching off from their current path. "I wanted to say this before, but just Melody is good enough for me. Lead the way...leader!"

"Well...alright then." Ren nodded and did as he was asked, the others falling in line behind him. They met a few dead ends and familiar sludge-looking Shadows, but Ren and Morgana tore through each one with a single Fire or Wind Skill. Eventually they arrived in a large square room occupied only by a staircase curving up to the next floor.

"Well, I guess this is it for this place." Ren turned to the others. "I mean, I'm pretty sure we hit all the dead ends, at least." He chuckled to himself. "Everyone ready?"

"Um...Senpai?" Sumire pointed to the far corner of the room. "I've been trying to keep quiet, but isn't that...blood?" The others turned to see yet another dark stain on the floor, very large and very red. Ren sighed. There had been smaller ones all over the place, not just here and the entrance, but with one so big...

"There's no getting around it, is there?" He scratched his head. "Just...try not to think about it. Remember, we're the only ones here; considering everything that happened outside, there shouldn't be any cognitive beings here either, so that's got to be just...fake blood, I suppose." To be honest, he wasn't too sure about the latter, given how little they knew about the tower, but he smiled at the younger girl all the same. "Are you okay?"

"...yeah. I'm so sorry, everyone. Let's keep moving." She tried to walk past him, but Hanako grabbed her shoulder, patting her opposite once she turned to face her.

"Everything's going to be fine. Don't worry, about a thing: we're all here to protect you...what?" Sumire gave her an odd look. She turned to see Ren and Morgana also tilting their heads. "Did I say something?"

"N - no. Nothing! I'm fine now, thank you very much. Let's go, Senpai!"

"Right."

They took the stairs up onto another identical corridor, but Morgana gasped. Everyone turned to him as his head whipped back down.

"What's wrong, Mona-senpai?"

"The floor beneath us just changed!"

"Huh?" Ren tapped the marble and cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

"Not the literal ground! I mean the floor we were just on! I just felt everything move around!"

"You mean like Mementos?"

"Yes! Yes, exactly!"

"Er..." It was Hanako's turn to cock her head. "I don't fully understand what Mona just said, but does that mean we're stuck here? How are we going to get back down if everything keeps changing? It's okay now, but we're going pretty far up, aren't we?"

"It's fine," said Ren. "We've dealt with situations like this before; we're still good. Come on, let's keep going." Hanako looked at him for a moment before shrugging and joining the group as they started walking again. SSumire stepped past Morgana and leaned into Ren's ear.

"Um...should we call Oracle-senpai back?"

Ren smiled. "It's fine, I trust Mona."

"Oh...yes, of course. I trust him too," came her red-faced reply. They turned a corner and saw a small group of sludges again, but before Ren could react Hanako jumped forward with a cheer and shot herself. Sumire screamed, but just as before blue glass flew out of the other side of her head. The ensuing fire was much more subdued this time though, merely spinning into a sapphire sphere in the air that burst, revealing her Persona. The musician strummed her lyre and the Shadows burst into flames, shrieking as they all fizzled away. Hanako turned to them, beaming.

"Wow, those things went down so fast!" She pumped both fists in the air "Does that mean they're especially weak to fire?"

"Y - yeah," said Ren, taking a step back from her enthusiasm.

"Yes! I'm so relieved! I saw you take them down in a flash, Ren-kun," she explained as they resumed walking, her now leading the way. "I know you two are strong, but I thought to myself 'Wow, those things _really_ freaked out there. I wonder if they're not good with heat?' ...and I was right!" she smiled wide. "Oh, and Mona, what was that green light you used?"

"Wind. My Persona excels in Wind attacks."

"Ah, that makes sense. So were they weak to that as well?"

"That's right."

"Excellent! You're all so well informed! ...oh, and there's the stairs!"

"Wait, what?" Ren looked up to see that Hanako had indeed taken them directly to the steps. He looked around. "...huh, that was fortunate. Morgana, can you sense anything of value on this floor?"

The cat closed his eyes for a moment. "Nope. Actually, this floor seems much smaller than the last one. I wonder if this one's going to change when we leave it too...anyway, there's nothing here but I can sense a strong Shadow a little ahead of us, Joker! Maybe two or three more floors away?"

"Okay, then that's something we should mentally prepare ourselves for. Are you okay with that, Melody?"

"Of course!"

The group went up to yet another room of corridors. This time they encountered three -

_Walking hands?_

They appeared to be sentient white leather gloves with blue heads coming out of their wrists. Ren struggled to comprehend them, but Hanako ran to the front of the group. "Orpheus!" Another gunshot and her Persona manifested, setting the gloves ablaze. They too screeched and collapsed, fading into black mist.

"Oh! I guess I got lucky..." Hanako scratched her head. "I figured, if we can end fights quicker by exploiting weaknesses, we should just use as many different types of attacks on as many Shadows as possible as quickly as possible...I didn't think I'd get it right first time, though."

"It's nothing to be sorry for, that was amazing!" Sumire clapped her hands.

"Yeah, you've really gotten the hang of this very quickly," added Morgana. Hanako just blushed.

"Oh, it's nothing...it was just dumb luck, right? Come on, let's get moving!"

"Right!"

The girls marched ahead, leaving the boys to follow them. Ren scratched his head. "Woah, she figured that out right away..? She's smart, good with fire _and_ good at keeping us all strong and healthy. She could put Ann out of a job, don't you think?"

He ignored Morgana's angry hiss.

* * *

The next set of stairs brought them to a small maze as expected, but the one after took them to a corridor that instead opened out into a large room. The Thieves spread out inside and looked around, only to hear a loud squawk. They looked up to see a giant, black bird swoop down. Everyone ducked as it flew past, Ren making out a heart-shaped collar around its neck as it curved through the air for a second attack.

"It's a bird, so I'll just knock it out of the air! Diego!" Morgana attacked with a blast of wind, but the bird simply flapped its wings and sent a larger gust back, overpowering Morgana's and buffeting the party. "Guess not," the cat growled as the bird circled them again.

"Then how about this?" Ren called Odin to strike the bird. The shock knocked it off its flight path, but it regained its height after a few heavy flaps and a second, angrier squawk.

"Allow me!" Sumire called two ethereal swords down on it, but the bird dodged both. "No! I'm sorry!"

"It's okay!" shouted Ren and Hanako at once. He blinked, but the bird dived at the older woman, driving all other thoughts from his head.

"Get back!" He ran in front of her and sent another bolt of electricity at it, but the bird twirled in the air to dodge and crashed into him, sending him to the floor.

"Senpai!" Sumire slid to a halt beside him and cradled his upper body. The bird swooped down at her.

"Violet, look out!"

"My turn!" Hanako stood in front of them, but she didn't call her Persona. Instead, Ren and Sumire saw black mist flow across her gun from the grip up, turning it into a much more realistic weapon in the span of a second. She pointed it at the bird, shut one eye...and fired.

The bullet pierced the masked bird's forehead. It shrieked and collapsed as Sumire pulled Ren to his feet. "Your gun can do that?" He asked.

Hanako raised it to the dim light. Her weapon looked like a standard pistol for a second, but before Ren could take a closer look the black coating slid back down it just as quickly, revealing its original silver finish. "I...guess it can. Huh. But that doesn't matter, let's get it!" She shot herself and summoned a blast of fire, but the Shadow's body simply glowed and sucked the flames in like a vacuum. "What was that?!"

"It's fine!" Ren ran forward with Sumire close behind.

"He's right, Melody-san! Ella!"

Her Persona skated in front of the still-dazed Shadow and backflipped, kicking it twice and knocking it into the air just as Ren spun towards it, slashing through it with his knife. He pressed a hand to his mask as he landed. "Black Frost!"

The demonic mascot tangled the Shadow up in a icy tree that detonated, freezing it in place. Morgana attacked now, slashing through it with his scimitar and shattering it. Shards of ice littered the ground like a tiny hailstorm and evaporated in puffs of black smoke. Ren stood up as he heard Hanako clap.

"Wow, that was incredible teamwork, you guys!"

"Well, you helped too, Melody-san. You knocked it down for us, after all."

"Oh, you..." Hanako twirled her ponytail around her finger. "Also, didn't I say not to call me '-san'?"

"Oh, you did, didn't you? Um...uh..." Sumire tapped her forefingers together, clearly taken aback by the question.

"She can't help it," Ren walked over to Sumire and patted her back. "She's a lost cause when it comes to that stuff, I'm afraid. Sorry about that." The girl blushed.

"Senpai..!"

Hanako chuckled. "Well, then I suppose I can make an exception. Now!" She put her hands on her hips and looked around. "You took a hit Joker, but thankfully you don't seem too hurt. Is everyone else alright?"

"W - we're fine, Melody!" said Morgana. Ren and Sumire nodded.

"Alright then. Forwarrrrrd march!" She strode toward the spiral stairs at the end of the hall. Sumire ran to join her while Morgana turned to Ren. "Woah. She's picking up on this stuff faster than you, Joker!"

"You think so?" Morgana cast a healing spell on him as the pair walked to the foot of the stairs, where the girls were waiting. "Well, if she wants to take over the Phantom Thieves, I wouldn't mind a break every once in a while."

As one, the four of them walked up the tall, twisted stairwell, but when they were almost at the top Ren buckled over, stomach churning. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the others doing the same. "Wh - what just happened?!"

"I don't know!" Morgana shook his head, then looked behind them again. "That last floor just disappeared!"

"What?" Ren did the same. It being a longer flight of stairs than the others was bad enough, their curvature made it doubly impossible to see the floor they'd just left.

"Are we lost?" asked Hanako.

"...wait, no." Morgana shook his head a second time. "I can still sense where we were, but it's really far away all of a sudden." He looked up. "I think we just warped to a higher point of the tower!"

"Huh?"

"I don't get it either, but this is a cognitive world," Morgana replied, calmer now. "It doesn't need to make logical sense."

"So...is this like the garden in Dr. Maruki's Palace?" asked Sumire.

"Yeah. Or the golden room in Madarame's Palace, Joker."

"Madarame...isn't that the artist a few years back who - "

"Yeah," Ren cut Hanako off. "But it's a long story."

"Oh, that's fine. I wasn't expecting you to tell it now anyway." Hanako stood up tall and looked around. "What a weird place..." She took the last few steps until the next floor came into view. "A _really_ weird place," she muttered. Ren joined her.

While this was yet another mess of narrow hallways, the aesthetic of the floor was completely different. The walls were now pitch black with the occasional giant white face looming over them. Ren felt hot under his collar and tore his gaze to the rest of the walls, noticing they weren't a solid color as he first thought. Instead, adorned with skulls (despite assuring Sumire that they were alone when they started, he hoped they were just ornaments). He shook his head and looked at the floor. It was bright purple with patterns drawn in a darker shade of the same color. Some of the shapes resembled warped, crying Halloween pumpkins.

 _...or more skulls,_ he bit his lip.

"Well, whatever," he said, both to himself and his team. He turned his head in time to see Sumire and Morgana catch up and look around as well. "This just makes our job easier, right? Let's keep this up!"

His words snapped the two newcomers out of their shock and they, along with Hanako, each gave him a smiling nod in return.

* * *

On the first floor, the team encountered a flock of five smaller versions of the bird they'd just fought. Black Frost hurled giant blocks of ice at them. They all screeched and hit the floor, three of them frozen.

"You hit their weakness!" shouted Morgana.

The Thieves slashed them with their physical weapons, including Hanako who cut two in half with a single sweep of her naginata.

"Amazing..." Sumire muttered.

They climbed the stairs at the end of the floor and were met with another swarm of walking gloves, only these were pink and seemed to be made of wool.

"Ooh, I've got this!" Without warning, Hanako shot herself and covered the Shadows in a blanket of flame. They screeched and fell to the floor. She burned them again, turning them into mist before the others could even acknowledge the threat. They gaped at her, but she just smiled at them.

"Um, wool burns, right? So I figured living wool would burn easily too. Did I do something wrong?"

"Uh...no. No, of course not."

"Yay!"

Ren exchanged glances with the others as they followed her. The next Shadows they encountered were gloves too and Hanako repeated the process, beaming.

"Um...Senpai?" Sumire looked worried as Hanako burned the Shadows down as they tried to escape. He couldn't blame her.

"Well...she _does_ need the experience...and I think she's more eager to help than she is another Akechi. She's fine...I hope."

All in all, he counted ten flights of stairs that he and the others went up in this new region of the tower, having fought either a flock of birds or gloves on each floor. The group paused before the next set of steps to catch their breath. Sumire looked around.

"Is everyone doing okay?"

Ren looked up from his slouch. _Of course she'd be the only one who wasn't bent over,_ he smiled. "I'm fine," he said.

"Same...same here," wheezed Morgana as Hanako forced herself to stand upright.

"I never truly appreciated that you were an athlete before, Violet-chan. Hey, why don't I try this?" She shot herself without warning, causing the others to yelp. Orpheus appeared above her and strummed her lyre, not only healing the wounds the four of them had accumulated but filling them with energy as well. Ren whistled as he stood up tall.

"Please give us a heads up next time you do that...but wow! My legs are still a bit sore, but otherwise this feels amazing; thank you so much!"

The older woman smiled. "I'm just doing my part!"

"Thank you all the same," Sumire bowed. "Oh, but you don't have to call me Violet-chan. Isn't that too much of a mouthful, Melody-san?"

"Doesn't this conversation sound awfully familiar to you?" Hanako raised an eyebrow and - after a moment's thought - Sumire blushed. Ren chuckled as he took the first step to the next floor and turned around.

"Glad to see everyone's doing better. Let's go!"

* * *

...but he tensed as soon as he saw the next corridor led to another large room. The group walked inside, but instead of a bird surprising them they saw the statue of a seated woman cradling a baby in its centre. Though the woman herself was made of marble, her face bore a skin-colored mask.

"Huh?"

The Shadow came to life at the sound of Sumire's voice and shuddered slightly, releasing a purple smoke that began to fill the air. The Thieves spluttered and covered their noses. Morgana summoned a gale of wind to sweep the room clean, but as soon as the greenish energy hit the Shadow it reeled back and collapsed on its front.

"Oh? Haha, a fatal tactical error!" Morgana ran forward and slashed it with his scimitar. Ren called Fafnir and had the dragon slam the earth, forming illusory cracks in the floor around the statue that shook it hard. Ella and Orpheus sent out waves of flame and holy energy as one, the combined attack crashing into the Shadow as it tried to roll itself upright, sending it rolling toward the other end of the room.

"Nice work, ladies!" Ren gave them a thumbs up as he moved to attack, seeing Hanako return the gesture and Sumire flash a shy smile. _I thought so._ He touched his mask and manifested Norn, who sent a mighty gust of wind at the Shadow, slamming it into the wall so everyone could freely attack it again.

With both he and Morgana able to exploit the Shadow's weakness, it wasn't long until a final double kick from Ella shattered it into pieces, the rubble rolling away for a few seconds before turning into black mist. Hanako saw the two of them gasping for breath and healed them. They stood, beaming.

"Thanks Melody," said Ren. "You're a natural!"

She rubbed the back of her head. "Oh, I'm just doing what comes naturally. Who knows, maybe I was a Phantom Thief in my past life too?"

"Well," Ren smiled. "Who knows? Hopefully we'll - "

"Joker!"

"What?" He turned to Morgana, but he was staring at the stairs. "Wha - ?" He turned, but wound up staring himself." Sumire and Hanako followed suit.

A figure was watching them. It looked feminine and was tall as Sumire. Ren wondered if it was meant to be a teenager as well, but couldn't tell: not only was it wreathed in black fog, its very body was pitch black too. It turned around. Ren caught the flick of a short ponytail before it disappeared into the solid color of figure's back. The being took the stairs without a word, one step at a time.

Before Ren could act, Sumire ran forward, hand outstretched. "Excuse me! Wait!" Ren's body kicked into gear and he chased after her, only to see the shadow evaporate once only its ankles were visible from where they stood.

"What...was that, Senpai? Mona-senpai?"

"No clue."

"Me neither." Morgana folded his arms. "If I had to guess, I'd say that was the Ruler's Shadow, but..."

"It was like a literal shadow," said Ren "It was as if a literal shadow just peeled itself off the ground and started walking around by itself."

"Yeah. I have no idea what that means. Someone without a sense of self? But even Shadows that haven't formed Palaces or entered Mementos just look like their regular people, remember Joker?"

Ren nodded, thinking back to the inmates of the Prison of Regression.

"Well," Hanako rested her chin between her finger and thumb "whatever it was, it didn't seem hostile at least. Then again, my Shadow didn't look like a threat at first either so I don't think that means anything."

"Hmm...I know we said this before, but you really are a fast learner, Melody." Even in the dim light Ren could see Hanako's cheeks turn pink at Morgana's words.

"Oh, it's nothing. I have really great role models, after all!" Morgana looked proud of himself, while Ren and Sumire smiled - the latter with a faint blush.

"That doesn't change the fact that you're still really good at this," said the leader of the Phantom Thieves before turning to face the stairs. "Well, hostile or not, that... _being_ is still our best bet for intel so far, so we should follow it. Well, we were going up anyway, so it all works out. We'll probably run into it again further up."

Morgana nodded. "I guess it's a good thing it was too stormy to fly to the top from outside, huh?"

"I _guess_ so," Hanako let out an exaggerated sigh as she bent down and massaged her thighs.


	18. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay! I've been busy again, but thankfully it's nothing as messy as what happened last week. But to get the icky stuff out of the way: I now have [a Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/TheROoNCo) in the hopes of being able to write like this full-time! I've got a mix of low and high tiers, but you're under no obligation to pay up. I'm happy to just keep seeing your kind comments and discussing things with you, I'm so thankful to each and every one of you!! :3
> 
> And with that said, onto what we all care for the most: the chapter!

The Thieves walked up the steps and just as they neared the top felt another wooshing sensation in their stomachs. Since he now knew what it meant, Ren's mind had time to notice it was familiar to the sensation of being shot into the air on one of the rides at Destinyland. He looked at the others. They were also holding their guts, but they all exchanged nods and, as one, climbed the remaining stairs.

The aethetic of the tower had changed again. This time the pathways were a soft green while the outside edges of the floor were a light blue. The walls were also pale blue, though they were adorned with half-embedded sculptures of staircases and fake windows.

"This is just like an aquarium," Sumire thought aloud. Ren nodded, looking around.

"Yeah. If it wasn't for the creepy atmosphere and the blood everywhere," he pointed to a particularly large stain almost touching the top step. "I'd like it here."

"Hmm..." Hanako walked over to the stain, crouched...and poked it.

"Melody-san!"

"...it's dried," she muttered, standing back up. "I mean, most of the blood here is almost black so it makes sense, but I thought you'd like to know." She turned to them and smiled. "Mona, what do you think it represents?"

"Hmm...if I had to guess, I'd say the Ruler either wanted this place to appear intimidating... Or that they were scared of it themselves, like Futaba was. Urgh, I wish the Nav wasn't so screwy, we could've learned so much from that!"

"Yeah..." Hanako took her phone out of her pocket and looked at her new bookmark. "And this used to be my Palace, right? What does that mean?"

"...no clue."

Hanako looked at him for a moment, but tucked her phone away with a shrug. "Eh, it's fine. I'm sure we'll find out later anyway."

They rounded a corner and were met straight away by a pair of horsemen. Ren took in their black armor and purple masks before they tugged at their reins. Their steeds neighed, exposing their legless undersides. One knight raised his lance and several bolts of lightning struck the ground at random. Ren ran to cover Morgana and summoned Thor to guard himself, the attacks fizzling out on impact with his skin.

"Melody-san!"

The two turned to see Hanako on one knee, gritting her teeth as yellow sparks rippled over her body, keeping Sumire from helping her up. Ren and Thor created a giant golden fist to strike the offender as its horse lowered to its original height, but the knight just raised its lance and braced it with both hands. The fist hit the centre of the long weapon, but the knight didn't even flinch, simply deflected the attack to one side. The ground trembled beneath them as the fist crashed into a wall.

"I'm fine..." Hanako muttered as she got to her feet, waving Sumire's helping hand away. She scowled at the Shadows as she shot herself. "Orpheus!"

"Ella!"

An orb of light hit one Shadow, a ball of fire hit the other. The former collapsed against its horse while the other hissed, sliding back as it batted the flames that spread over its torso.

"It's weak to Bless attacks, great going Violet!" shouted Morgana. The formerly immolated Shadow roared and lunged at her but she spun on her toes away from its lance. She raised her rapier to chest height as she completed her pirouette, using her momentum to stab at the horse's flank. She missed but called on Ella as she moved. The Persona appeared directly in front of the Shadow and downed it with a quick blast of energy from close range.

 _How graceful...wait, not now!_ Ren shook his head and called Vohu Manah, striking the first Shadow who had just regained its bearings with another Bless attack. He opened his mouth to issue an order, but jumped as two walls of flame burst into life around them, coating the twin knights. He whipped his head around in time to see Orpheus fading into the void.

"Ha...I have to get my own back somehow, right?" Hanako panted.

The flames went out and the Shadows rose, glowing red splotches over their bodies.

"Mona!"

"On it, Joker!" Diego sent a blast of wind at the Shadows, igniting their burns. Both yelled from the sudden shock to their systems and collapsed onto the ground befor fading into a now-familiar black mist.

Everyone exhaled and Hanako healed them without missing a beat. The two boys gave her weary smiles.

"Thanks."

Sumire however, clapped. "Thank you so much!"

"Oh, you're so sweet." Hanako raised a hand and Sumire high-fived it before the two girls broke into giggles. Ren and Morgana stretched.

"You jealous, Joker?"

"Nah, of course not." _Well, maybe a little._ "Okay!" His raised tone got the girls' attention. "That was a wake up call: I guess we shouldn't underestimate the small fry going forward anymore. Let's keep pushing as far as we can."

They fought more of the horseback Shadows on the next two floors before seeing a pair of dancing Shadows; one masculine, one feminine.

"Wait, what?" Ren narrowed his eyes. The Shadows hadn't seen them yet, which gave him enough time to realise they were headless. However, the couple held a balloon between their hands that wore a mask instead. "I...guess they're both a single Shadow, then?" He muttered.

A giant thorn appeared in the air and stabbed down without warning, Ren barely had time to hold his knife up to catch the thorn on the flat of his blade and grunted as the impact forced him to one knee.

_I guess they noticed us after all..._

"Joker-senpai!"

"Wait, I got you!" Morgana healed him as the shining thorn disappeared and he stood with a loud exhale.

"Thanks... Arsene!" The pillager of twilight fired a beam of cursed energy at the dancers. They staggered and stood still, necks pressed against each other. "Oh, guess I got lucky," he muttered again before yelling to the others. "Everyone, attack!"

Sumire was first, sending Ella to strike the dancers with two fierce kicks that knocked them against each other. Ren followed by having Arsene spin into the couple, landing a third kick that tore through their torsos, turning them to ash.

"Wow..." said Hanako. "A couple brutally slaughtered by our own couple. How romantic!"

Sumire blushed and even Ren couldn't help but mumble a "Please don't put it like that."

* * *

They fought through two more floors of dancers before seeing another large room. They walked slowly, only getting more tense when they saw the room was empty. The exchanged confused glances as they continued towards the wide stairwell at the end one crouched step at a time, looking in all directions.

"Joker! Over there!" Morgana pointed to the side.

Ren followed Morgana's raised paw and saw a small hallway leading to two white doors. "I wonder..." He stood up straight again and walked over to it, hearing the others follow him.

"Is this safe, Joker?"

"Oh yes, Melody-san!" He appreciated Sumire taking over for him as he examined what lay before him. Now up close, he could tell that the doors were made of marble; presumably the same marble that made up the entrance to the tower, given they had the same flawless sheen. However, these doors had thin red wires crisscrossing them. Ren had a sneaking suspicion of what they were and, just as he feared, fresh blood gushed over his sleeves as he slashed them with his knife.

"Oh, _ew..!_ " he turned to see Sumire wincing, but Hanako just looked from one to the other, confused.

"This isn't normal for you?"

"What? Is this fine for _you_?" Morgana hopped on the spot, frowning.

"Of course not!" the older woman frowned and wrinkled her nose. "I just assumed all Palaces were like this."

Ren smiled while shaking as much blood off his arms as he could. _If you only knew what we've seen..._ Once the blood falling from his jacket slowed to a faint drizzle, he pushed at the doors, surprised by their weight. He let out a continous, low grunt until they gave way, wringing his arms again once they did so. He heard three yelps behind him and turned to see flecks of red flying from his limbs toward where they'd been standing when he last saw them. He winded.

"Oops...my bad."

"It's fine," said Sumire, taking a step forward into her original position. He gave her a thankful smile and stepped inside the room.

And stopped.

All of these Rooms had vines creeping up the walls in other Palaces and this one was no different.

But these vines were dead. Wilting.

Not only that...

Ren took a few cautious steps inside the room, but even when he was standing directly in front of the Seed...

"I don't hear anything."

"What do you mean?" asked Hanako. Morgana spoke up.

"That right there's a Will Seed," he explained. "They're formed at points where a Palace Ruler's desires is concentrated, so we'd normally be hearing those desires right now."

"Yeah," said Sumire. "They were hard to make out at times, but I still remember the stuff we heard in Dr. Maruki's Palace..." she hugged herself. "They were...pretty sad..."

 _Yeah,_ thought Ren before speaking. "Well, this Palace has been bizarre from the beginning, so we can just add this to our list of questions for now." He paused, then bit his lip and grabbed the Will Seed from its plinth and looked around. This part at least was still normal.

"Um..." Hanako took a step forward and leaned over the Seed. "You said it was a seed, so I just wanted to ask: isn't that...a skull?"

"Yes. Does that worry you, Melody-san?"

"Oh, not at all!" She smiled. "I was just curious again. But if that's all we have to do here, shall we continue?"

"Yeah," said Ren.

* * *

Despite this being another large room, the Thieves didn't feel themselves shifting up the tower as they went up the steps, instead being surrounded by the same aqua blue walls as before once they reached the top.

"Let's just hope we don't have to climb the rest of this tower manually," Ren muttered as they looked around. They turned a corner and came face to face with a Shadow in a green cloak. It wore a round brown mask on its face with a single hole in its middle and had a lantern where its torso would be.

"This one's creepy," said Hanako right before the Shadow sent a blast of fire at them. Ren called Black Frost to block the attack and retaliated with a block of ice. The Shadow stumbled back but was otherwise unharmed. "Wait, it uses fire but isn't weak to ice?!" She asked with a scowl. "It already sucks that I can't use fire myself here..."

 _Wait, you figured that out too?_ Ren raised both eyebrows. _Seriously, she's giving Makoto a run for her money with how quickly she's picking everything up!_

While Ren digested the information, Hanako called Orpheus anyway. But instead of using fire, the musician used her lyre to bash the Shadow to one side. Hanako glanced at a now-composed Ren, who gave her a thumbs up. She beamed.

"Hey," came a high-pitched voice from beside them "maybe I can put its fire out! Diego!" Morgana attacked with Wind, but it too only made the Shadow step back and nothing more.

"Then Ella!" Sumire posed as her Persona appeared and attacked with shining light. The Shadow let out a muffled scream and fell to its knees.

"Yes! Great work, Violet!" She beamed at Morgana's praise and pumped the air. The cat and Hanako ran forward and slashed the Shadow with their weapons. It got to its feet but sagged so far down that they could all tell its death was near. Ren simply pulled out his pistol and put it out of its misery, firing a single shot that pierced the Shadow's eye. It disappeared before it could even scream.

"Ooh, very stylish, Joker!" Hanako tapped the ground with the tip of her shoe. "Are you trying to show off?"

"No, I'm always this stylish. Let's get moving!"

At the foot of the stairs to the next floor however was a giant floating die, waiting for them. It were a pale green, almost green color and had a disc of the same color circling it.

"What is this thing?" he asked.

The die floated towards them as if to answer his question, disc oscillating wildly. Ren threw himself to the floor and let it pass over him, rolling to his feet as it reversed. The die itself spun in place and he felt a sudden pressure on his mind. He grit his teeth and threw the attack off, looking around to see the others do the same.

_That's my Phantom Thieves._

Orpheus struck it with fire, but apart from a slight wobble in its disc the die didn't seem affected. Hanako clicked her tongue. "But it's made of metal! I was so sure fire would work!"

 _Wrong rules,_ he thought to himself. But it being made of metal gave him an idea...

"Odin!"

The god of the Aesir appeared and channeled a small storm of Electricity through the Shadow. It shuddered and collapsed, but before it even touched the floor Orpheus' lyre smashed into into the wall.

"Finish it, Violet-chan!"

"Wha - ? Oh, okay! Ella!"

Two swift kicks from the princess-to-be were all it took to shatter the Shadow into chunks of metal that in turn faded away.

"Awesome work!" Hanako hugged an unaware Sumire from behind, who in turn squeaked.

"Uh...let's not get carried away," said Ren. _Huh. Futaba said the same thing just a few days ago..._ He beckoned to the stairs and waited for Hanako - who by now raised the flailing Sumire off the ground - to release her. The younger girl staggered forward, gasping for breath.

* * *

Ren counted eight more floors of mazes and Shadows before they reached the next arena, legs burning. Morgana healed them this time and the quartet walked towards their next opponent, a large Shadow that resembled a medieval court jester with two giant hands embracing it from behind. They tensed and drew their weapons as they got closer...

The Shadow shrieked and hurled an swarm of huge ice blocks at them. The three old Thieves dodged. Hanako on the other hand faced the icy rock hurtling towards her...

"Melody-san!"

...and sliced through it with a simple upward flick of her naginata, both halves of the cube shattering on either side of her.

"Woah..." said the others in unison. Hanako looked at them and flashed a smirk that rivalled Joker's best.

"That thing uses ice, right? Orpheus!" Her Persona strummed her lyre then swept her arm out, releasing a wave of flame that threw the Shadow back. It crashed into the ground, skidding several feet.

Morgana and the teenagers let out various cheers as Ren entered the fray. "Zaou-Gongen!" The blue diety surrounded the Shadow in a pool of lava as it got to its feet. It collapsed again with a scream. Morgana slammed four golden fists into it and Sumire surrounded it with white blades that slashed through it as one. It struggled to stand again.

"Finish it, Melody-san!"

"With pleasure!"

Hanako shot herself and Orpheus rocketed towards their foe. The Shadow formed a giant ice cube before it and shot it at the Persona, but Orpheus threw a ball of flame at it, melting the ice and filling the room with steam. She broke through the thick of the mist, dispelling it as she pulled out her lyre and slammed it into the Shadow with the full force of her momentum. The jester soared through the air and crashing into the floor, rolling into a broken heap, letting out one last wail before dissolving into nothingness.

A moment passed in silence before the quartet relaxed.

"...well," said Ren at last. "We're getting better at this. Mona, Melody, could you heal us please?"

"Of course!" they shouted as one. Ren turned to Sumire, but before he could speak she pointed.

"The stairs...everyone, look at the stairs!"

The youthful Shadow was back and watching them again.

Ren took a step towards it.

"Hello?"

It turned its head ever so slightly to face him, but did nothing else. Its face was still pitch black so he couldn't even tell what it was thinking... He bit his lip and crept his foot forward a few inches.

"Can we...talk?"

The Shadow glanced at his foot, then raised its gaze back at his face. It looked at each of the other Thieves in turn, finishing with a cocked head at Hanako.

Then it turned and walked up the stairs, turning to black mist right before it stepped out of view.

Ren let out the breath he didn't realise he'd been holding and sighed "...I guess not," he turned to the others. "Well, are you still okay with healing us, you two?" Hanako and Morgana nodded. "Great. I'm sure we're all getting a bit worn out now - athletes exempted, of course." He smiled at her, but Sumire pouted but said nothing. "But what do you say we all try to go just a little further?"

"I'm sorry, everyone." said the athlete in question.

"What? That's not something to be sorry for, it just means the rest of us need to work hard like you do!" Morgana laughed.

"Mona-senpai..." Sumire smiled, her cheeks pink.

"Well, I think I can go the full distance!" Hanako grinned, hands on her hips. "Besides, I'm not sure how we're even going to get down at this point anyway, unless we find a big enough window for us to break and fly out of or something."

Ren toyed with a lock of his curly hair. "Fair enough. For now let's just focus on climbing as far as we can. It's a - "

"Wait, you don't have a plan to get us out of here?" Hanako cocked her head. "Didn't you say you've been to places like this before?"

"Y - yeah," said Morgana. "Don't worry about it, everything will work out. Just trust us!" Hanako frowned.

"Hmm. Sounds more like you're just relying on luck..." a pause as her frown deepened.

Then she broke into a grin. "Buuuuut you've already been doing this for a year, right? I _guess_ you have to know what you're doing to make it this far in one piece." She stuck her tongue out and winked. "And I don't mind taking a risk or three for the greater good. Besides, it's more fun that way, isn't it?" Ren rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks flushed.

"Yeah...thanks, Melody. Having you helps though; as I was saying before, it's a good thing we have two people so good at healing in our group. I don't know where we'd be if we didn't have you two."

The two of them chuckled - Hanako blushing while Morgana puffed his chest out - and worked their magic. With their wounds gone, the Thieves climbed after the mysterious figure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there have been quite a few back-to-back combat centric chapters lately. I hope you're okay with this shift! I know I've said this in the past, but I can't say it enough: thank you so much for reading and commenting, I love interacting with you so much!!


	19. Chapter 18

The Thieves let the now-familiar sensation in their guts pass and took the last few steps to the next floor but immediately shut their eyes as a searing glare assaulted them. They opened them again after a few seconds and looked around.

"So...gaudy," muttered Hanako. Ren had to agree. The walls, ceiling and floor were all a dazzling gold, the fomer now adorned with sculptures resembling small plinths.

"This reminds me of Madarame's Palace," said Morgana.

"Yeah, but this place doesn't look like it's been warped like that one was; seems to just be business as usual here." Ren looked around. Everyone but Sumire was clearly running out of energy. _Hopefully we can find a balcony to fly out of,_ he thought to himself. _Or a big enough window to smash, as Hanako-san said..._ He shook his head and beckoned the others. "Well, let's move!"

They made their way through the floor. It seemed empty until they reached the stairs leading up, at which point Ren felt a prickling on the back of his neck. He turned to see blocks of ice flying towards them.

"Black Frost!"

The Persona blocked the attack and the Thieves looked through the shattered ice at their foes. There were three of them. They were almost skeletons, with only a thin layer of black skin covering their feminine forms, save butterfly masks over their eyes and flowing headdresses that reminded Ren of nuns. They sat in tall pink thrones that had no legs, instead ending in points like upside down pyramids and floating a few inches above the floor. The one in front folded its arms over its chest and floated behind its companions as they raised theirs. One fired another orb of ice while the other attacked with a gust of wind. Black Frost and Diego blocked both as Hanako grinned.

"Ice? Then I can fight it! Go, Orpheus!" Her Persona sent a wave of fire out, but the three Shadows didn't even flinch. "Whaaat? That's not fair!"

"The opposing element thing is just a rough guideline!" shouted Ren. "Arsene!" His curse attack struck the furthest Shadow, knocking it back a few feet. Sumire and Morgana ran forward and slashed the two leading Shadows with their weapons before jumping back to their allies. The three nuns attacked as one this time, two forming vague spheres of wind above their heads and the third a rough block of ice. Ren noticed the latter tilting its head away from its own power.

"I wonder..."

Ren blocked the wind attacks with Norn, hissing as the ice hit it, then switched to Black Frost and retaliated with a giant ice cube of its own. It struck the Shadow previously wounded by Arsene and its body disappeared at once.

"What?!" shouted Hanako. "But they _use_ ice!"

"Well spotted, Joker!"

Ren grinned as the remaining Shadows paused. Sumire capitalized on their shock by surrounding them with shining blades, but they in turn surrounded her with glowing sheets of paper.

"That won't work!"

She slashed through the spiral of sheets surrounding her, the remaining paper blowing away in the wind as her own attack connected with the Shadows, slicing them into black splotches that fizzled away into the air.

"Great job, Violet!" shouted Ren. She scratched her cheek.

"Thank you, Senpai! It was just instinct though..."

"Hey, don't knock instinct! It's useful to have, both as a Thief and in your everyday life; you should be proud!"

"Oh! Well...thank you, Mona-senpai!"

Ren heard Hanako chuckle under her breath. "Well then, shall we get going?"

They took the stairs and fought through a few more floors of floating nuns before seeing a pair accompanied by a mass of floating black eyeballs. They paused at the bizarre sight. The eyeballs swivelled around and glared at each of them, revealing green eyes with catlike pupils. There were five in total, all orbiting around a small brown core, but before Ren could call out this observation the Shadows attacked.

The nuns launched gusts of wind at them while the eyes gathered around their core for an instant before sending out a stream of flames. Morgana and Ren blocked both elements with their respective Personas while Hanako retaliated against the eyes with a fire attack of her own, but beyond a faint shudder they were unaffected. She groaned. Ren called Black Frost and wrapped the two nuns in brambles of ice that exploded, sending them to the floor. Sumire fired an orb of light into the midst of the eyeballs that detonated in their midst and sent them rolling across the ground. She shrieked at the sight and Ren chuckled before calling Fafnir.

"End it!"

The blue dragon slammed its fists into the floor sending out shockwaves of pure physical strength that shattered all three of their foes. He exhaled and let Fafnir fade back into the recesses of his mind before turning to the petite redhead.

"Great work again, Violet."

She gave him a shy smile. "Th - thank you, Senpai. Now, let's get going!"

"Right!"

They found the stairs and went up. They fought one or both types of the same Shadows for another three floors until they met a third. This one resembled a giant man, suspended upside down on a wheel with eight spokes and a serrated edge. Both man and wheel were a dark grey and reminded Ren of circus acts where a performer would be tied down and spun while another threw darts around them. Just as he thought this, the Shadow also spun, its ring spewing lightning in all directions.

"Brace yourselves!" He yelled. Morgana braced himself as he called Thor to protect Hanako, though she was already tensing herself as well. The attack coursed through the other three. Ren shrugged off the blow to himself and watched Sumire and Morgana wince before they stood up tall, shaking off the after effects of the shock.

"Are you okay?" he and Hanako asked as one.

"Yes!" shouted Sumire.

"And ready for revenge! Diego!" But Morgana's attack only did a normal amount of damage. Sumire attacked the Shadow with a pair of conjured swords while Orpheus bashed it with her lyre. The Shadow reeled from the double attack, but simply spun around its wheel again, this time attacking the party with ice. Ren, Sumire and Morgana dodged, but Hanako took a hit to her side and staggered.

"Melody-san, are you alright?!"

"Of course! I hope the rule applies this time!" Hanako shot herself and Orpheus summoned a burst of fire. The Shadow screamed as soon as the flames touched it and fell onto its back. "Yes!"

"Yay!" Sumire raised her hand and the two high-fived. Ren gave them a moment to congratulate each other.

"Let's get it before it gets back up!" He reminded them.

"Right!" The girls spoke as one as they chased after him. The Shadow managed to rise, only for Ren to slash its gut sideways. Morgana jumped, cutting a diagonal path from its hip to its left shoulder and Hanako cut it in the opposite direction. Sumire lunged with her rapier and pierced it through the stomach. The upside down Shadow let out a scream as it dissolved.

The Thieves let out a long exhale in unison as the tension left their limbs.

"That was another big one," Ren sighed. "How is everyone?"

"I'm fine, Senpai," said Sumire despite panting. Hanako wordlessly called Orpheus to heal them again. Filled with energy, the Thieves stood back up.

"Thank you, Melody," said Ren. "It's thanks to you that we can keep going like this. This is much longer than our usual infiltrations."

"Yeah," said Morgana. "It sucks that the hallways are so narrow here, otherwise we could just drive everywhere."

"Drive?"

"Oh right, you haven't seen it yet! Well, Mona-senpai can turn into a helicopter _and_ a car!" Sumire clapped her hands together. "That's how we get through this other huge Palace called Mementos - the place Mona-senpai said this reminded him of, remember?"

"Oh, yeah...huh. But wow, Mona! That must make you pretty invaluable to the Phantom Thieves, huh?"

"Nyehehe, my thoughts exactly!"

Ren pinched his nose as Morgana continued to cackle. Sumire caught his eye and the pair shared a private laugh. "Well," he said "breaktime's over. Let's get going!"

They encountered all three types of Shadow over the next few floors. Ren felt his mind and body scream at him to stop the further they went, but since they already knew their weaknesses the Thieves were able to make short work of them. Morgana stopped them before they took a flight of stairs.

"Guys, I'm sensing a huge Shadow up ahead!"

"Right. Thanks, Mona." Ren let out another long breath and took the opportunity to examine his team.

Needless to say, they were all tired. Even Sumire was starting to sag as she leaned against a wall, though she stood up straight when she noticed Ren looking at her. He smiled at the sight. Having two healers helped, but they needed a place to rest at length without worrying about being attacked. This tower was evershifting just like Mementos, right? If only it had waiting rooms too...

Having caught their breath, Morgana and Hanako healed the party. Once they were recovered, they went up the stairs and entered a now familiar arena, this one featuring a Shadow that reminded Ren of a wrestler. It was tall and bulky, with pure white skin covered in flame tattoos and wore a dark blue mask on its face, though the mask was too small to cover its red moustached mouth.

Both parties braced before the Shadow roared. It charged at them, throwing out one of its huge fists.

"Fafnir!"

The Persona caught the offending limb and grappled with the Shadow, eventually throwing it back. However the wrestler didn't appear phased in the slightest, simply bouncing on the balls of its feet. He clicked his tongue and Fafnir roared, creating a sphere of Nuclear energy beneath the Shadow's feet. It jumped back as the sphere exploded then ran at them again. Sumire used a Bless attack that did nothing. Morgana pushed it back with wind, the Shadow too busy resisting his gale that it was caught unawares by the second atomic flare and thrown into the stairwell at the opposite end of the room.

"Yes!" Hanako shouted. The Thieves spread out as the Shadow struggled to rise. "Get him while he's down, Orpheus!" She shot herself and Orpheus attacked with a wave of fire, only for the Shadow to raise its hand. Its tattoos glowed red and it absorbed the flame into its palm. Its body was bathed in a soft blue light and it stood back up, stomping the ground as if in defiance of them.

"I think I just helped it...I'm so sorry!" She covered her mouth, but Sumire patted her arm.

"It's okay. Senpai, let's hit it even harder!"

"Right!" He smiled at both women and pressed his mask. "Shiva!"

The four-armed god appeared and sent a severe burst of psychic energy at the Shadow, who raised its arms to brace against the pink waves. It almost fell to one knee, but with a sudden burst of strength it broke through the attack and roared. He clutched his head, feeling weak. He looked around and saw his fellow Thieves also wincing as faint purple and lights blinked around them. The Shadow pulled its fist back.

"Oh no...Attis!" The bandaged Persona appeared and strengthened himself and his team to compensate for the Shadow's skill, but doing so gave him no time to dodge its punch, which caught Attis in the abdomen and sent it flying into him. He crashed into the ground and rolled, thankful that the Persona dissipated upon contact with him as he came to a halt, spluttering.

"Senpai!"

"I'm fine!" He held up a hand to stop her as he got on one knee. "Black Frost!"

A tree of ice sprouted, wrapping the Shadow's limbs in its branches before it exploded outward. The giant fell back, but pulled itself back up within moments. "I was hoping that'd do more," he muttered. Morgana attacked with wind and the Shadow took a step back, but simply parried when Orpheus tried to hit it with her lyre. He heard Hanako growl.

"Then how about this?" Ren heard a gunshot before Orpheus returned, this time playing her instrument. Now it was the Shadow's turn to stumble as a purple aura surrounded it for a moment.

That could help.

Ren wrapped the wrestler in ice again and this time it was thrown back further by the detonation. It pulled itself up, but now parts of its body were frozen. It looked at the patch of ice on its wrist as it and all the other patches spread as one, joining up as they coated it entirely.

"Violet, now!"

"On it!" Sumire called her Persona. Ella shot towards the Shadow and shattered its ice prison with two spinning kicks. It crashed into a wall and crumpled.

"Perfect. Fafnir!" The blue dragon assaulted the Shadow with yet another Nuclear attack as it tried to stand, blasting it back into the wall. It fell back onto all fours and tried to get up for a third time, but Morgana threw it into the air with his own Persona. This time it crashed into the floor...and disappeared.

Ren exhale. He leaned forward, pressing against his thighs for support before jolting back up with a soft yelp: resting against his legs hurt more than just standing upright. He watched the others collect themselves as they too looked around. He spotted Morgana's eyes widen a moment before the cat pointed behind him.

"Joker look, another Will Seed!"

He turned around. There was indeed another corridor leading to a second pair of gleaming white doors. He frowned. A Shadow guarding a Will Seed already? That only happened with the last Seed of a Palace: did that mean they missed the second? He was sure they searched every possible path on their way here though...

_Then again, this Palace is much weirder than past ones..._

He dragged himself to the doors and slashed at the vessels covering them, leaning away as he did so to prevent blood splashing on him again, though some still splashed onto his gloves. He wrinkled his nose as he shook his hands as clean as he could, watching as even more blood dripped from the thin tubes into a puddle by his feet. Once his hands were as dry as he could manage he pushed the doors open with a loud grunt of effort, vaguely hearing Hanako mutter an "Oh!" from the main hall as he stepped inside.

This room was just as lifeless as the previous one, with dead plants adorning the walls and not even a whisper coming from the Ruler even when he and Morgana were right next to the Seed within.

"This place is so...wrong," he heard Morgana mumble.

"Yeah.." he muttered back. He raised the Seed from its plinth. It was red, he noticed with a bit lip. That either meant they'd have another fight on their hands before the blue one...or that they'd missed it. He dreaded the thought of going back down the long and shifting floors they'd already covered to find it.

 _And wait, what if it's on one of the floors we skipped over?!_ He shuddered and shook his head, putting the Seed away as he and Morgana walked back to the larger room.

"Oh, Senpai! Come quick!" The boys jumped at the sound of Sumire's voice as called him over to another corridor opposite the one he'd just come from. "Melody-san found something!" Ren and Morgana shared a glance and followed her, finding Hanako at the end of this new path. She standing beside a green circle on the ground with an orange semicircular structure behind it. If it wasn't for the wire coiled around it, Ren would have thought it looked like the end of a bicycle rack. He noticed a small green sphere near its base too.

"What is it?"

"I don't know," replied Sumire, but Hanako just smiled and tapped the circle with her foot. It lit up, green light rising and falling like an artificial campfire.

"Ooh, this is interesting," she smiled at the others. "Shall we try standing on it?"

"What?!" shouted Morgana. "We can't just do something like that!"

"Oh come on, it'll be fine!"

"Well, we have taken crazier risks than this before," said Ren. "Still, nothing about this Palace makes sense. We can't just be reckless like that."

"Oh, live a little!" Hanako jumped onto the circle and the light shot up, surrounding her in a green pillar as the others shouted. Hanako held her skirt down as a strong wind buffeted her. The light intensified for a second...and then it was gone, taking Hanako with it.

The remaining three Thieves looked at each other, eyes wide.

"Melody-san?! Melody-san, where are you?!" Sumire looked close to tears already.

"Shh, she's going to be fine." _I hope._

"Uh...guys," the couple turned to Morgana. "We didn't just recruit another Ryuji, did we?"

"Uhh..."

Ren was saved from having to answer by the circle shooting a pillar of light into the ceiling again. They turned back to it and shielded their eyes for a few seconds, their eyes adjusting in time for them to see Hanako's head poking out.

"What are you waiting for? Come on!" Her hand followed and grabbed Sumire. She yelped but Hanako pulled her into the light. The pillar disappeared as soon as she went fully inside, now having consumed two of their companions. Ren and Morgana exchanged another glance.

"Well...she did come back..." said the former.

"Y - yeah..."

They walked onto the circle together, shielding their eyes as the light consumed them.

* * *

They opened them when the sound of wind died away and saw a beaming Hanako and worried Sumire looking at them. Ren looked around at the feeling of fresh air against his skin, first spotting a giant stairwell and then...

"Wait...isn't this the first floor?"

"Yep!" said Hanako. "What do you think?"

Ren and Morgana stepped into the large circular room and looked around. He realized they were on the opposite side of the stairs from where Lavenza had called him over when they'd first come in. He looked behind him to see another green and orange device where he'd just been standing, identical to the one he and the others had entered earlier.

"Huh," said Morgana "I guess that was some sort of teleporter?"

"Yep! " Hanako said again, beaming. "I saw it when we first came in. I didn't know what it was, but it clicked once I saw the one upstairs. Oh, that reminds me..." she frowned and looked from one original Thief to the other "um...why were you all so worried before? Didn't you see this one too?"

"Uh..." Ren scratched the back of his head. He looked around at Sumire and Morgana to see that they were caught off-guard as well. _Well, this is embarrassing for the Phantom Thieves..._

But Hanako seemed to read his mind again and just chuckled. "Well, all that matters is that we found one higher up, right? And we also learned we can go between them so it isn't just a one-way trip either. What do you think?"

"Well, thank you for finding it," said Ren.

"Yes, thank you so much!" Sumire pumped both fists. "This is such a useful discovery!"

"Yeah," he nodded. "It's unfortunate that we couldn't see that Shadow...thing again, but now that we know we can get back to where we were, this is probably a good place to call it a day. What do you all think?"

Morgana nodded. "Yeah. Besides, we don't have an urgent deadline for this Palace, so it's best to rest up when we can."

"Alright, then. I'll defer to your judgment, Mona." said Hanako. "You clearly know your stuff. Maybe I should call you Mona-senpai like Violet-chan does!"

Morgana cackled. "Well, I certainly won't stop you!"

Sumire blushed instead. "If you're feeling tired everyone, I think we should leave too now that we have the chance," she said. "Shall we go?"

Everyone nodded and walked out of the giant marble doors. Ren had prepared himself for the sight of the abyss, but seeing it in person again still filled him with an unmistakeable sense of dread. He shook his head and took out his phone, sensing Hanako peeking over his shoulder. "Let's go back," he said as he tapped the screen, returning them to the real world.

* * *

The quartet reappeared in Hanako's living room. Now that the threat of danger was gone, Ren felt an intense pressure fill his body and fell onto the two-seater couch. Morgana collapsed on the floor and Hanako sunk into the single-seater at the same time, leaving only Sumire standing upright. She looked from one to the other with a hand over her mouth. "Oh no! Are you all okay?!"

"Y - yeah..." Ren blinked a few times before looking at his phone again. "Huh?!"

The extra energy in his voice drew three pairs of eyes to him. Morgana tried, but was too tired to jump up beside him.

"What's wrong, Senpai?"

Hanako checked her own phone. "The time! It's still the same as before!" She turned the display so Sumire and Morgana could see and they both gasped.

"But...that doesn't make any sense," said Sumire. "We were in there for hours!"

"Hmm...this is the same as when we sent the calling card," said Morgana. "Maybe the cognition that time stopped was part of this Palace all along, not the other one?"

"Hmm..."

"Are you alright, Hanako-san?"

She looked at the younger girl and gave her a warm smile. "Oh, I'm fine. I was just thinking...remember what I told you this morning, about how I felt like my own time was frozen sometimes? If that happening in the Metaverse is due to someone else feeling the same way...well, I just thought that I could relate, that's all."

"Hanako-san..."

"Hey, don't look so sad, you look like you're about to cry!" She beckoned Sumire to her then leaned up to rub beneath her eyes. "I still feel a bit uncomfortable about what happened to me, but I don't feel like that anymore." She blinked, then chuckled as she relieved Sumire with a few gentle pats on the cheek. "Actually, that's pretty strange isn't it? I feel like I've changed so much in just a few hours, is this what a change of heart feels like?" She placed a hand over her physical heart, eyes wide for a moment before chuckling again. "Oh, but that reminds me. Why do all the Shadows wear masks? Is that symbolic of something too?"

"That's new to us too," said Morgana. "Usually Shadows wear masks while they're roaming the Palace, but take on a new form and lose the masks when they fight. We've never seen Shadows keep their original appearance in battle before now. Actually, they were like that in your Palace too, with a few exceptions. When it was your Palace, I assumed it was because you felt so disconnected from the world you felt everyone had...I dunno, an impenetrable shield around them or something..."

"Hmm...well, I didn't think of them as shields specifically, but I did feel a gulf between me and them. Sumire-chan was right, now that I think about it: I wasn't afraid of going outside, I just...felt ashamed, I guess. I felt that not knowing who I am meant I wasn't allowed to know others." She glanced at Sumire's teary face and smiled again. "Hey, but I told you I feel better, didn't I? I admit I'm still a little nervous about going out and meeting new people, but I'm not as scared as I used to be...that's weird too." She giggled. "Wow, these changes of heart sure are something, huh? But Morgana-kun, if that's why the Shadows in my Palace had masks, do you have any theories why the Shadows in the tower have them?"

"Hmm..." he managed to stand up. "I have two theories. The first is that when whoever hijacked your Palace did so, they accidentally inherited some of its traits. That'd explain time stopping while we're in there too."

"Okay, and the second?"

He paused. "...I'm still not sure about that one. It's a little awkward to explain, so I'd like to wait until we get more evidence to prove or disprove it."

"Hmm. Well, as I said before, I trust your judgement, Morgana-kun." With an exaggerated sigh she leaned back in her seat. "Wow, I'm pooped. But, if what we just did took no time at all, maybe we can pick up where we left off in a few hours?"

"I don't think so. We may recover physically in that time, but I think we're all too drained mentally. Let's not forget we were in your Palace this morning as well. It'd be too risky if we went back now. I say we wait until tomorrow."

"That makes sense," she nodded, then turned to Ren. "Ren-kun, if you're as tired as you look, please feel free to take a nap here for now. It'll be a good excuse to finally use that second bedroom for something too."

"No, I'm...fine..." he tried to stand but immediately collapsed back into his seat. "A - actually, I may take you up on that. I'm sorry, Sumire..." he looked up at her, trying to at least sit up straight. "I feel bad being so tired while you're still raring to go. I know you get in more and more trouble each day we spend here."

"Not at all!" Sumire shook both her head and her hands. "There's no need to apologize, Senpai! I can just train here, remember? Coach Hiraguchi is already fine with me staying here as long as I keep up with my practice."

"Heh...thanks, Sumire. I owe Coach Hiraguchi a load of thanks too. Oh, that's right; but you have practice today, don't you?"

"Yes. I still owe her for skipping yesterday as well."

"Sumire-chan, that's insane!" Hanako leaned forward. "Are you really going to go practice after all _this_?!"

Sumire just nodded. "I just need to rest for a while and have a snack, then I'll be good to go!"

Hanako's jaw dropped and Ren shook his head, wondering how big her 'snack' would have to be. He sighed. "Morgana, how far up do you think we got?"

"I really can't tell," he sighed. "We were warping all over the place so I couldn't get a proper sense of how far we went, not to mention how the warping itself means any measure of our progress is meaningless." He looked up to see three upset humans. "B - but we found that teleporter, right? That has to mean we passed some kind of threshold, doesn't it? And look at it this way, tomorrow we'll be even more refreshed than we are today because we'll have a proper night's sleep! I'm sure we'll see everything that tower has to offer in a day or two, I guarantee it! ...and hopefully learn more about that Shadow too," he added.

"And find out who the Ruler is while we're at it," Ren added "so we can send them a calling card."

"Ooh, I forgot about the calling card! I look forward to that part!"

"Good! It's the quintessential part of a Phantom Thief's trade, after all!" Morgana cackled. "But Shadows usually don't react well to those. Remember how yours became that two-headed bull?"

"Oh, right...but!" Hanako smiled. "I have faith in our team, Morgana-kun! We can do anything!"

Ren smiled too. "That we can. Okay, so I guess we're calling it for today. Let's try and get to the top of the tower tomorrow!" Everyone cheered. He chuckled at the sight, then turned to Sumire. "If you don't mind, can you walk me to Hanako-san's spare bedroom, please? I feel bad asking you - "

" _What?!_ " She turned as red as her hair before realizing what he actually meant. "Oh, I - I mean, sure thing, Senpai!"

He chuckled. "And can you give me a massage too? I've always wanted to ask you for one."

Sumire's jaw dropped. A moment later she let out a long whine.

"What," Ren raised an eyebrow "you _are_ a gymnast, aren't you? I remember you giving Ann advice on massaging her legs when we went to Mementos that one time."

Sumire's blush deepened and Hanako grinned. "Ooh, can you give me a massage too, Sumire-chan?"

"Huh?! Um...I guess if you really need me to..."

Ren and Hanako exchanged glances and laughed.

"We're just kidding," he said.

"Yes. But you're so sweet for offering!"

Sumire pouted and Ren imagined steam gushing out of her ears. Once he stopped talking, he cleared his throat. "But serious talk, I would appreciate you _telling_ us how we could massage ourselves."

It took her a few seconds to calm down after which she nodded. "Okay, I can do that." Ren raised his arms which made her blush again, but after tucking Morgana under her arm she held the other out to her senpai. He took it, letting her pull him to his feet. She blushed as he placed an arm around her shoulders and wrapped hers around his side to keep him upright, doing her best to look anywhere but him. Ren looked back to see Hanako stifling her laughter and fought the urge to kiss one of his girlfriend's glowing, inviting cheeks.

He didn't want her to drop them, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my longest chapter yet! Thank you yet again for all your support everyone, it means _so much_ to me!


	20. Chapter 19

Ren awoke on his side on a warm bed, but didn't remember falling asleep. He felt something warm and furry under his hand and looked down to see Morgana curled up beside him, still snoozing. He vaguely recalled petting him as drifted off now...but why was something petting _him_?

He rolled onto his back to see Sumire looking out the window, her hand falling from his shoulder to his chest as she patted him absentmindedly. It took her a few seconds to realize her hand was touching something else and looked down to see his open eyes.

She jumped out of the bed with a quiet yelp. "Ah, Senpai! I'm so sorry! I...I just wanted to make you some coffee, but you looked so peaceful and - and I didn't have anything else to do that I couldn't resist! Uh...I mean..!" Ren looked to his other side to see that she had indeed left a cup of coffee on the bedside table. He eased himself up, taking care not to disturb Morgana as he pressed his back against the headboard and took the cup in his hand. She must have been here for a while, he thought as he took a sip of the lukewarm liquid.

"Senpai, I should heat that up again..."

"No, this is fine." He took a larger gulp to prove it. "Just knowing you made it is enough to make this the best cup of coffee I've ever had." She whined. "I hope you make me coffee in bed from time to time after the wedding too."

" _Senpai!_ "

He chuckled and finished the rest of the drink, setting the cup back down and stretching. "Where's Hanako-san?"

"She's still sleeping, I left her a cup too though."

"Wow, good at gymnastics, cooking, making coffee _and_ taking care of others?"

"Please stop it, Senpai..."

"Oh, alright." He patted the space where she had been sitting. Sumire's blush intensified for a brief moment, but she sat back down, looking away from him until he put an arm around her shoulders. She gave him a shy smile and placed her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. "How do you feel?"

She was quiet for a moment. "...nervous. I don't get how Hanako-san can have another Palace inside her. Doesn't that mean the Ruler messed with her head somehow? I'm scared..." He squeezed her.

"Yeah, that worries me too. But she's doing fine so far, and remember what Morgana said before? We've dealt with _gods_ before! And so have you!" He poked her side and she giggled. "So no matter what happens, I know we'll be able to steal this Palace's Treasure just like all the others and keep her safe to boot. I promise."

Her smile widened as she wrapped her arms around him, burying her nose into the side of his neck. "Thank you, Senpai. Talking to you always makes me feel better."

"Well, that's just _my_ job."

She frowned for a few seconds until their conversation above the apartment complex swam into her mind's eye. She giggled again, tightening her grip around Ren as he put his other arm around her. The two held their embrace for a few, golden seconds before he fed a hand between them to retrieve his phone. He held it up behind her back and turned it on.

"Oh wow, we've been sleeping for four hours! Huh. It feels like I slept a lot longer though. Must be thanks to you tucking me in."

Sumire pulled back, cheeks red again. "If you tease me, I won't do it next time."

"Oh, so you _want_ there to be a next time?" Her mouth opened for a moment, then her blush became a pout.

He couldn't resist pecking her pursed lips.

She let out a shrill squeak and the two stared at the sound before breaking into quiet laughter. They heard a soft rustling beneath the sheets.

"Hey, can't you two lovebirds keep it down?"

They'd woken Morgana. Both humans blushed.

"Sorry," said Ren while Sumire hid her face. Morgana stood up and stretched.

"It's fine. By the way, Sumire, didn't you say you had a longer class today?"

"Hmm? Ah! Oh no, you're right Morgana-senpai!" She turned around and checked the time on Ren's phone. "Oh no, oh no, I need to get going right away!" She scrambled out of the bed. "I'm so sorry I have to leave like this, Senpai! Thank you for reminding me, Morgana-senpai!"

"Woah, woah, calm down!" Ren shuffled over to her side of the bed and stood up. "Are you sure you want to go? You've been working hard lately. I don't think you've had anything to eat since breakfast either!"

"Oh, I went shopping while you were sleeping and made everyone lunch already - yours are still in the living room - and I _have_ to go to practice now, Senpai! If I don't, I'll just have to do three times the work tomorrow! Or worse yet, Coach Hiraguchi will make us leave!"

Ren sighed and scratched his head. "It still feels like you're being overworked, but...I'll walk you there."

"Huh? But Senpai, you must still be tired!"

"Didn't I just say you made me feel better?" He stretched. "Come on, let's go see if Hanako-san is awake first. Are you coming with us, Morgana?"

Hanako was sitting up in her bed when the two knocked to say goodbye, having just woken up as well. She insisted on helping Ren pack his and Morgana's lunches and walking them to the door to see them off, despite their pleas that she stay in bed. Ren was thankful no one - especially Sumire - noticed how hypocritical this made him.

"Well, goodbye then, you three."

"Yes, thank you for letting us rest, Hanako-san." Sumire bowed.

"Somehow I don't think you got much sleep," Hanako raised an eyebrow at her. Ren waved his hand.

"Oh, don't worry about that. She was with me." Sumire's cheeks turned pink for a few seconds before she cleared her thoughts by slapping her cheeks.

"Th - that's right!" She rushed out. "I got to eat _and_ take a power nap, so I'm good to go!"

"Well, if you say so." Hanako sighed and turned to Ren and the cat on his shoulder. "We're meeting tomorrow, right?"

"Yep, right after college."

"Huh? Oh right, I forgot about that. But wow, you want to go into that Palace right after classes? Do you do that sort of thing too, Sumire-chan?" Sumire nodded and Hanako let out a low whistle. "Wow, you kids are crazy! Well, if that's how you've always done things I have no right to argue. After college it is then! I'll have some healthy snacks waiting for you when you arrive!"

Ren dropped Sumire off with Hiraguchi, who seemed annoyed but just shrugged when Ren apologized for making her late, and spend the rest of the morning buying and crafting supplies for their next excursion. He returned to pick up a weary but proud Sumire in the evening and took her home, where they had a quiet dinner with his family before going to bed.

* * *

_Monday, 7th May_

Ren stopped by his house after his final lecture to collect Sumire - who had chosen to sleep in and do some basic stretches in preparation for their infiltration - before going to Hanako's home who had, as promised, prepared a tray of protein bars and fruits for them.

"How was your first day back?"

"It was fine, thank you for asking."

"Glad to hear it. I still can't get my head around you going to school and the Metaverse at the same time," Hanako giggled. "I'd love to have lived like that, you know: an upstanding citizen in the morning, a supernatural warrior at night, that's the stuff dreams are made of! I'm a little jealous! Oh..." she fell silent and looked away.

"Hanako-san?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine, Sumire-chan. Besides, I know better now: instead of feeling sorry for myself I should live life three times as hard to make up for all my lost time, right?"

"...right!" Sumire turned to Ren. "Senpai, are you alright though? I feel bad when you're the only one with classes." Ren patted her back.

"Don't worry about that. It's all for a good cause, right? Come on, let's get going."

"Ooh, can I use the app this time?"

The more experienced Thieves shared bemused looks before Ren turned to the older woman. "Uh, sure thing, Hanako-san."

"Yay! Beginning navigation! Beep!"

* * *

It was only when they stepped back into the entrance chamber after a full night's rest that Ren could appreciate just how tired he'd been both before and after their previous excursion. Remembering how he'd felt on their way out in particular made him want to stretch his limbs out of reflex, just to make sure they were in working order. He shook his head clear and waved everyone to the teleporter, exchanging a quick nod and grim smile with Lavenza as he went.

"Let's go, team! Back to work!"

They cheered and filed into the teleporter one after another, the pillar of light a permanent fixture until Morgana passed through, bringing up the rear. Even knowing what awaited them did little to prepare them for the dazzling gold before them.

"This place is really getting on my nerves," hissed Morgana, shielding his eyes.

"Just be glad we didn't bring Yusuke."

They took the winding steps up and felt a familiar wooshing in their guts. It was a smaller sensation and Ren wondered if it meant they'd gotten used to it, but when he looked up Morgana was already shaking his head.

"We skipped a few floors," he explained "but nowhere near as much as before. It's like I can just reach out and I'd be able to touch the floor we were just on."

"I hope this is just a one-off," muttered Hanako. Ren nodded.

"Yeah, I don't want to climb the rest of this tower the old-fashioned way." They took the last few steps and looked at yet another new terrain. "...what the heck _is_ this place?"

It felt like a fusion between a karaoke club and Crossroads. The walls were dark red and covered in large diamonds made up of rows of blue and green dots, with a few brighter red dots thrown in for good measure. The floor and ceiling were also dark red, though the floor was patterned with circles of different sizes, all consisting of concentric rings of different colors; purple, orange, green...just looking at them made him wonder if he had been drugged without realising it.

"I miss the blue place," he heard Hanako mutter behind him. "At least that place was relaxing once you took out the blood and monsters. It was almost nostalgic in a way."

Sumire nodded. "But we can't let it get to us. Let's go, everyone!"

"Right!" Ren beamed at her and she flashed a tiny smile back. "I couldn't have put it better myself." He led them around a corner and into their first encounter of the day.

Their foes were three pillars each made up of three heads in bishop hats, though the highest and smallest head of each wore a now familiar blue mask. All three pillars wobbled on the spot and summoned small clouds of thorns above their heads that scattered outwards. The quartet dodged and Hanako immediately shot herself. Orpheus appeared and hit one of the pillars with fire and it sagged immediately, its three heads bending over each other as if it were a palm tree. "Yes!" she cheered, but its companions hurled lightning all over the corridor at once. She braced as stray bolts struck her, her clothes billowing in the force of the attacks. Ren too grit his teeth as the lightning coursed through him and looked to see Sumire in the same position of him, though Morgana was able to dodge the bolts until they died down.

"Weak to fire, huh? Zaou-Gongen!" The Persona bathed the two upright Personas in flame and they collapsed just like their ally. "Get 'em with your weapons!" he shouted to his own. "Let's pace ourselves this time!"

"Right!" The three other Thieves charged and slashed at a Shadow apiece. He ran in after them, jumping onto Morgana's Shadow and stabbing one of its smallest eyes, then whipping out his pistol and firing through the other Shadows' masks. He dropped his gun and grabbed the top of the Shadow's second head, ripping his knife out of the first and slashing its neck. He kicked off and landed in a crouch. All three expired at once. Ren heard three rounds of applause as he retrieved his gun and stood up.

"Great job, Joker!"

"Looks like I still have a lot to learn from you," said Hanako.

"You were amazing, Joker-senpai!" Sumire had the biggest smile of them all.

He felt his cheeks turn warm as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks, it's good to know I've still got it." Morgana gave him a knowing smile and he just gave him an honest one back. "Now, let's continue!"

They encountered more of the three-headed towers as they made their way up the tower. In time, they encountered another floor with a large room in the middle. They entered it and saw a trio of stone golems waiting for them, each wielding a sword in one hand and a set of scales in the other.

"Three?" whispered Morgana as they stood in the hallway.

"Yeah," muttered Ren. "This Palace just keeps getting trickier. Alright," he addressed the team at large. "Let's do it!"

They charged as one. Ren and Sumire launched waves of Bless and Curse at the golems but their attacks did nothing. Morgana and Hanako followed with waves of Wind and Fire. The Shadows bristled at this, but otherwise simply shrugged them off and swung their swords in unison. Ren summoned Fafnir to repel the hits, but this was a return to how they reacted to his earlier attack with Sumire: they didn't. Morgana used his signature ability, launching four giant fists at their enemies. The Shadows blocked a fist each, but the fourth smashed into a Shadow's face, forcing it back.

"Yes! Let's keep up the pace, Odin!" The Allfather summoned a swarm of small clouds above the Shadows that struck them with severe lightning. They staggered, but despite their wounds stayed upright. "Mona!" he yelled.

"Yeah?"

"Do you still have those stun guns I gave you?"

"Yeah!" Sumire tried to surround the Shadows with with ethereal blades during their exchange, but they too did nothing.

"Okay, then use those! Black Frost!" Ren tested the Shadows' Ice resistance next. Spirals of frozen energy exploded around them. As with the Electricity they were hurt but not knocked down. "Alright, Violet! Melody! Use these!"

He threw a small bag to each of them. Both their confused expressions cleared up once they opened them to find freeze sprays.

"Got it, Senpai!"

The two joined Morgana, running around in circles and attacking with their items. Ren called on Fafnir once again and raised his hand.

"Eyes on me, fellas!" He snapped his fingers and the three golems' heads whipped around to him. They advanced and swung their swords down, only for Fafnir to block them. Ren grinned. He'd only gotten this ability through sheer luck after an accident in the Velvet Room, but it allowed him to draw the attention of any Shadows in his vicinity, useful at times like this. He had Fafnir attack by detonating massive orbs of Nuclear energy beneath the titans and they staggered, making it easier for the others to attack them for a while.

"This also lets us conserve energy," he said to himself. He watched the others wear the Shadows down until Sumire managed to freeze one. "Perfect, everyone back away from that one!" He yelled. He had Fafnir fire a single burst of blue energy at it, the attack's strength multiplied by the Shadow's predicament and causing it to explode. His friends ducked as shards flew over their heads, but being barraged by fragments of their ally snapped the other monsters out of their trance. They bore down on Sumire who grit her teeth and called on Ella, but before she could do anything Orpheus flew into her line of sight and smashed one of the Shadows' heads with her lyre, followed by a burst of fire from close range. The Shadow groaned before it sank to its knees and turned to fog.

"Oh, we're done with the plan? Good thing too, I ran out a while back." Morgana laughed and punched the remaining Shadow with his four fists. It parried one, but took direct hits to its shoulders and between its shoulder blades, spreading cracks across its upper body. Morgana continued his assault with another burst of wind, blasting its head off of its now-fragile neck. The Shadow fell as if in slow motion and disappeared before hitting the ground. "Huh," he continued in the sudden quiet "that took a lot longer than normal, but I don't mind. Hey, how did you even make all this stuff, Joker?"

"Well, I had almost a whole day to make it all instead of just an hour like I usually do," he shrugged. "I have to remember to take the trash out myself this week though, my family's gonna freak if they find out what's been going on in my room."

"That could be taken many different ways, you know," said Hanako, handing her bag back to him. She winked at Sumire.

"Hmm? What do you mean, Melody-san?"

"Please don't," Ren held up a hand as Hanako opened her mouth. She smiled and closed it, simply turning away from Sumire when the latter cocked her head. _Hopefully this doesn't turn into another drugstore incident..._

The Thieves went up the now-familiar set of wide stairs. They tensed themselves in preparation for the warp...but nothing happened. They exchanged glances and hurried up the last few steps to see the same psychedelic scenery as before.

"I really hope we don't have to climb the rest of this place ourselves..." Hanako muttered.

"Yeah," said Morgana. Ren shook his head clear of his own rising sense of dread and looked each of his teammates in the eye. Their concentration on him, he turned back to the path laid before them.

"Everything's going to be fine, everyone. Now, let's keep going!"

* * *

But the floor shook as soon as they turned their first corner. They tensed.

And a giant humanoid lumbered into view.

_...what the heck?_

It was every bit the meaning of the word "giant" but now that they had a better look Ren hesitated to call it a humanoid. Its vast bulk was supported by two stubby legs and while it had a human's head - albeit featureless, with only a bright purple mask to distinguish its face - it had no arms. Instead its body consisted a model of a castle; the building itself making up its chest while a large hill complete with escape routes rested where its stomach would be. The Shadow stomped one of its tiny feet and the floor shuddered again, this time accompanied by a stormcloud appearing above the giant's head that fired a bolt of lightning at Morgana, who barely ducked out of the way.

"Diego!" His Persona retaliated with a blast of Wind and the Shadow wasn't as lucky, taking the full force of the hit and falling to its knees. "Okay team; let's go, go, go!"

They did as he said, diving in and slashing away at the Shadow with their blades. They backed away when it shuddered and stood up, but Ren called Norn to blast it into a wall. Hanako slashed it, followed by a stab from Sumire before she jumped back.

"Ella!"

Her Persona flew in from the ether and landed a fierce kick to its abdomen, followed by another, each strike embedding it further into the brick and mortar. The Shadow peeled itself out, took a step...and collapsed.

"Okay," Ren exhaled as the Shadow turned to fog. "Our teamwork is improving, excellent! Let's keep this going and we'll reach the top in no time!"

"Yes!" Hanako cheered.

"Hopefully we'll see that peaceful Shadow again too," said Sumire.

"Yeah, that too. Now, let's get going!"

The group climbed several floors, fighting through more of the giant castle-shaped Shadows and even smaller replicas of the red tanks they'd seen in Hanako's Palace. Despite the change in size they were still weak to Electricity, so Odin and some newly crafted stun guns made short work of them whenever they appeared.

 _But these tools are finite,_ Ren thought to himself as the team fought another tank. _And they're hard to just whip out and use on the fly, so we're still using our Personas a lot..._ Not to mention Personas were much safer to use as well, for both offense and defence compared to rifling through their supplies. Still, Ren couldn't help but feel they were being too inefficient with their physical and mental reserves.

At the end of a floor, he handed out a small pouch of medicine to the others.

"What's wrong, Joker?" Hanako opened the bag and looked inside.

"We don't know how much longer this is going to take, especially now that the stairs aren't helping us as they used to. You two are doing great work healing us, but I think you should save your strength for when we really need it. I know asking everyone to watch their own health in the middle of battle is a tough ask, but can we try that for a while?"

Everyone nodded. He couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you. Let's keep at it!"

They fought through two more floors, their supplies unused...and reach yet another corridor that lead to an arena. Ren winced. _This was a bad time to put pressure on everyone..._ He looked at his team but they were all determined to fight, pouches tied to their belts. They stepped into the large room, but it was empty.

However, that only made them more apprehensive.

"Two of these in one area?" asked Morgana. "I know you said this before, but this place really _is_ getting tougher..."

"And we haven't seen that Shadow person either," said Sumire.

"Or the thing we have to fight right now."

As if in response to Ren's words, a flame ignited in midair in the centre of the area. A large lantern formed around it, gold and embellished with two small wings. A pair of thin of metallic arms and legs followed with the lantern at their core. An masked face and cloak completed the humanoid figure, the flame still burning in place of a torso. It was identical to the Fire-using Shadow that had confused Hanako the day before, only this one was pure white where the other was black and dressed in green.

"At least there's only one of them this time," he sighed.

The Shadow's flame burned brighter and an orb of black and white light formed before it before exploding, sending a wave of two-toned light rippling towards them. They all dodged, Sumire leaping over it while the others ducked, the gymnast retaliating with a magical attack of her own, which had no effect. Hanako attacked with Fire next. The Shadow took a step back from the assault but remained standing tall. Ren called on Arsene, but his Curse attack washed over their foe with no effect, just as Sumire's had. "I should have known," he muttered.

The Shadow locked eyes with him. Its cloak fluttered and the next thing he knew he was surrounded by small, shining sheets of paper swirling around him. They latched onto him and he braced, knowing what would follow.

**Pain.**

Burning, searing pain.

It coursed through him. His body spasmed and his legs gave way. He crumpled, landing on his arm with a loud _bang_.

"Joker!" He heard Morgana's voice, muffled as though they were on opposite ends of a long tunnel.

"Senpai!"

He half-opened his eyes and saw the blurry form of Sumire running towards him.

"Violet-chan, wait!"

Sumire turned to see a shockwave of physical energy rushing towards her. She flinched, but Orpheus jumped in the way and sent a blast of flame at it, cancelling the attack out in a midair explosion.

"Thank you, Melody-san!"

"It's fine, check on your Senpai! Fast!"

"Right!"

Sumire skidded to a halt beside him and put his head in her lap. He groaned. "Ow..." he rasped. "That hurt. I knew that Skill Card would pay off..."

"Senpai?! Are you okay?!"

"Huh?" His senses returned to him and he blinked enough to make out the redhead's face. It was almost fully covered by her mask, but he could still make out a pair of watering eyes through them, looking down at him. "Y - yeah..."

She cupped her mouth and let out a high-pitched gasp before shaking her head and pulling him to his feet. She then called Ella, who covered him in pale blue light. He blinked a few more times as his pain was replaced by a gentle warmth.

"I'm not as good at healing as the others, Senpai, but I can still do this much. Are you feeling better now?"

"Absolutely." He smiled and tucked a loose strand of red hair behind her ear. "That's my girl."

She blushed and the two ran back to the battle. Hanako and Morgana were hurling heavy blasts of fire and wind at the Shadow. Hanako must have sensed their presence, as she turned to them as they approached and nodded.

Ren nodded back. "Let's help 'em out, Violet."

"Right!" She touched her mask and Ella flew in, slashing at the Shadow with two fierce kicks that sent it reeling. Ren called on Fafnir and used the strongest Nuclear attack it could muster, but even that only made it flinch.

"I wonder...everyone, only use Physical attacks!"

Morgana used his unique skill and the Shadow staggered with each punch, flying across the room when Orpheus hit it with her lyre.

"I knew it!" Ren shouted. "It's weak to Physical attacks but resists magical ones!" He willed Fafnir to slam the ground and send out waves of raw power that knocked the Shadow to the floor. "Just like a mage in a video game," he muttered before yelling. "Let's finish this!"

Everyone cheered and charged in. Hanako and Morgana slashed the Shadow followed by Ren and Sumire who stabbed at it. Hanako twirled her naginata and slashed a second time, shattering the Shadow's lamp. Its fire was swept out of existence from the force of her attack. The Shadow teetered on its feet for a lingering second of silence...then fell to its knees. It dissolved before its head hit the floor.

"Awesome!" Morgana jumped in the air.

"That was amazing, Melody-san!"

Hanako scratched her cheek. "It was nothing really, I just let instinct take over..."

"Hey, remember what I said yesterday? Instincts are important! Well, those are the stairs, Joker: we should get going."

"Sure. I hope we get pushed up this time..."

The Thieves took the steps and sure enough felt their stomachs churn once they neared the top. Ren heard Sumire mutter a "Thank goodness!" once the feeling subsided but turned to Morgana. The cat answered his unspoken question.

"That was another big one. We should be in a new area now, let's go!" He led the way up the remaining steps.

The Thieves froze at the top step, taking in their surroundings. Ren couldn't help verbalizing his thoughts.

"What the..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your continued support, everyone! I'm so relieved you like the combat so far, please let me know what you think of the encounters in this chapter too! I can't help but wonder if I made them too short this time. Thank you in advance!


	21. Chapter 20

"Everything's so... _clean_ ," Hanako murmured. Ren had to agree. Everything was in shades of white; the walls, floor, ceiling...all looked as if they'd been constructed from the purest crystals. Additional crystals decorated the walls with small structures that looked like archways of various shapes, while the floor had zigzagging white and grey lines running across it. Some lines formed concentric diamonds. Others intersected with each other to form two-toned hexagons. Others still simply formed jagged waves. Everything was so beautiful, but at the same time...

"It's just like Dr. Maruki's Palace," Sumire muttered, hugging herself. He nodded to that too.

Everything also looked sterile. He let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "Well...at least there's no more blood here."

"Actually, I think that started on the previous floor," said Hanako. "Everything was either dark red or purple though, so I'm not entirely sure, but maybe that's what that teleporter was trying to divide? The floors with blood everywhere and the floors without?" Everyone winced at the thought. She shook her head and continued, looking around. "Anyway, everything here almost looks heavenly, don't you think? Does that say anything about the Ruler, Mona?"

"Hmm...well, we have been to another Palace whose Ruler made it seem more heavenly the further we went, but this reminds me more of Mementos. That was another massive Palace like this one, only that went underground and became more and more like hell instead."

"I see..." Hanako glanced at Sumire, who was still looking around, biting her lip. "I guess you've got bad memories with this 'Dr. Maruki's' Palace, huh?" Sumire didn't respond. Hanako turned to Ren who nodded in her stead. Hanako was silent for a moment then tapped the other girl's shoulder. Sumire jumped. "Well, that's all the more reason for us to see this through as quickly as possible, right Violet-chan?"

Sumire took a few deep breaths, then smiled. "...yes! Let's do this, everyone!" Ren placed his hand on her back.

"Okay, but just let us know if you feel uncomfortable, alright?"

"I will, but I promise: it won't be a problem. Thank you very much though, Senpai!" Her eyes sparkled as she smiled again. Ren smiled back.

 _She's so..._ radiant _..._

He looked deep into her eyes and she looked into his. The rest of the world faded away...

\- until Hanako squeezed between them with a loud "'Scuse me!" They jumped away from each other, taking sharp breaths as the older woman pivoted on the spot and rolled her own eyes at them. "Think we should get back to climbing this death tower now?"

"R - right!"

"Yes please, Hana - I mean; yes, Melody-san!"

Hanako's stern face broke into giggles as Morgana sighed.

* * *

They made their way through the floor, encountering dead end after dead end until the reached the end. They stopped at the sight of the stairs.

Or at least, what passed for stairs in this section of the Palace. Instead of steps, they faced another archway - this one with an unfinished top - leading to a gentle slope that ran upward with little bumps along the way that made Ren wonder if it was meant to resemble a natural, grassy hill. The grey and white lines were also present here, though now they formed simple limbless arrows pointing them further along as if it were meant to be a racetrack instead.

Before any of the four could voice their opinion on this further change in the tower's architecture, they heard the flapping of wings. They spun around in time to see a flock of pure white birds fly in from the corridor they'd just left. They swooped down on them.

"Spread out!"

The quartet covered their heads and scattered per Ren's instructions. The birds pecked at their arms as they flew past before rising back into the air. With the immediate danger gone, the Thieves braced for combat. Now able to get a clear look at them, Ren noticed that each carried a tiny lantern beneath it, each with an equally small red flame.

"Fires...so they must be immune to it, right?" asked Hanako. He nodded and gave her a thumbs up.

"Black Frost!" The black gremlin launched blocks of ice at them. They were knocked out of the air but regained their senses in a second. "Not weak to that, huh?"

"Then how about this? I'm not some bug for you to carry off, you stupid birds! Diego!" Morgana attacked with wind, but the birds stayed at the same height. "That did even less than the Ice!" he groaned.

 _Must be animal instinct for him to hate birds..._ Ren shook his head as Hanako twirled her gun in her fingers, letting the familiar shadowy finish creep up it before aiming at the birds and firing. All three shots landed and the birds lost balance for another second before returning to their original altitude. _Wait! If they're in the air..._

Ren called Odin and blasted them with Electricity. The birds crashed into the earth at once. "Slash away!" he shouted. The others did so, the birds so small that one slash each was enough to cut them in two. They turned into tiny puffs of mist and disappeared.

"...that was oddly easy," Sumire frowned.

"Yeah. I doubt it, but it'd be nice if everything stayed easy," Ren sighed. "Let's go, everyone. Watch your step! There aren't any handrails on this...slope...thing."

Despite the lack of guards however, the ridges on the path were enough to give them stable footing. They fought more birds over the next floors, the Shadows making up for their frail bodies with their numbers and speed. They healed themselves as best they could with Ren's medicine and kept going, until they entered a new floor and felt the ground shake beneath them again.

Another giant Shadow rounded the corner. There was no mistaking what this one was meant to be though: it was a grey minotaur with huge white horns, an upside-down blue mask and chains connecting its wrists to a collar around its neck. The Shadow bellowed and lumbered forward. Ren shielded them with Fafnir, but despite being thrown back it simply got on all fours and shifted its back leg like a bull. Ella cast a sphere of holy magic at it but the Shadow simply knocked it back with a flick of its horns. Sumire yelped and called her Persona to block the hit. She did so and took no damage, but both Ren and Hanako couldn't helping calling out.

"Violet!"

"Violet-chan!"

The Shadow charged at her, but both Orpheus and Arsene appeared between it and the girl and summoned orbs of their respective elements, flinging them at their foe. The Shadow took both hits at once and was sent crashing into the opposite wall so fast it seemed to blur before their eyes. It pulled itself out of the dent it left there but collapsed, gasping for breath. Ren and Hanako looked at each other.

"Did we just hit both of its weaknesses?" They said at once before grinning.

"Let's go, Joker!"

"Right!"

Arsene and Orpheus charged up again and flew forwards. Both launched beams of energy. The minotaur sidestepped the flames but was thrown back by the darkness. It hit the wall again and tried to get up, only for Hanako to yell "You're done!" and launch a second fireball into its chest from point-blank range. It screamed and burned until it faded away. The two Persona-users looked at each other. Then Hanako raised her fist and Ren bumped it.

"Wow Senpai, Melody-san!" Sumire and Morgana joined them, the former's eyes sparkling. "That was amazing!"

Ren tugged at his hair and smiled. "I guess neither of us can deal with you getting hurt."

"I think that's probably it."

"Wh - what?" Sumire turned bright red and covered her mouth for a few seconds before revealing a shy smile. "Um...thank you..."

Morgana walked ahead. "That's cute and all, but let's not get caught off-guard like that again. Come on, let's keep moving!"

"R - right!" Sumire hopped over to him quicker than the other two could even react, her red face betraying why she was so eager to move on. Ren and Hanako shared another smile before following her.

* * *

They encountered more birds and minotaurs until they reached the next arena. _I wonder how many of these we'll see in this place,_ Ren thought to himself as the party stepped into it. They saw three Shadows, identical to the Shadow chained to a ring they'd seen before. These ones however were a deep black with red collars and upside-down masks, the disks they were chained to now filled by a gold interior.

"Another triple threat," he muttered as the battle began. The Shadow on the right surrounded itself in an orange aura while the one in the middle spewed lightning at them. Hanako and Morgana jumped back. Ren in turn jumped in front of Sumire and called Thor to protect them both. He heard the attack sizzle out and looked up to see they were all unharmed. Good. He willed Thor to create a giant golden fist in the air and hurl it at their foes, but the leftmost Shadow countered it with a blast of energy. The light of the collision faded and they saw the orange aura around the first Shadow burn stronger. It span on the spot and summoned flaming swords in the air that slashed down all around them. Ren had no time to summon Fafnir so just hugged Sumire tight, covering her as best he could as the attack blasted them through the air. He twisted mid-flight to shield her from the impact of their landing as well. They crashed on the ground, splitting apart as they both rolled to a halt. He heard Morgana shout their names before he felt his injuries melt away, grunting a thanks as he got to his feet.

 _It's a good thing Thor is good against Physical damage, even if he's not as good as Fafnir_ _..._

Now it was the centre Shadow's turn to charge up, floating back a foot as it surrounded itself in an orange aura as the others floated forward.

"So that's how it's gonna be, huh? Norn!" The Fortune Persona sent a gale of wind at the Shadows. They stilled as the attack buffeted them, but none of them staggered as he'd hoped. The two offensive Shadows charged at him, wheels spinning, but were stopped by Orpheus and Diego, though he saw both Personas wince as they held them still. Sumire tried attacking both with holy light, but neither one took any damage. Orpheus and Diego finally managed to deflect the attacks of the Shadows they were grappling, with Orpheus blasting her foe with fire but doing little damage as they flew back to their companion who launched another barrage of energized blades at them.

"Not this time!" Ren called Fafnir. The giant dragon raised both arms swatted the waves of energy directly in front of it with its armored limbs, sending them back at their foes. The other Thieves joined him in cowered behind the Persona as stray slashes crashed into the walls around them while the repelled blades tore into the Shadows, leaving them shaken but still standing.

Ren grit his teeth as now the third Shadow took its turn to charge up. What elements hadn't they tried yet?

"Black Frost!" He sent a blizzard at the two Shadows now on the offensive. One protected itself by blasting away the ice heading for it with lightning, but the other took a direct hit and froze. "Yes! Alright, everyone focus on the one that's still active!"

"Okay! Diego!" Morgana caught the Shadow just as it was preparing to attack, holding it in place as it tried to advance. Sumire siezed the opportunity, sending Ella to land her signature attack on it before Orpheus followed up with a mighty whack of her lyre, sending the Shadow into a wall and following it up with a blast of fire. The Shadow staggered, but four giant fists courtesy of Morgana pummelled it in sequence until it turned to ash. "Yes!" he cheered.

A flash of orange caught Ren's eye and he turned to the charging Shadow. "Don't think I forgot about you. Fafnir!" The Thieves took cover behind him again as the strengthened blades bounced off of him and crashed into the frozen Shadow, shattering it into gleaming dust that disappeared before it even hit the ground. The Shadow stopped as though in shock at killing its own ally _._

 _Or simply because it can't rely on their joint tactics anymore._ Ren thought to himself with a chuckle. "Now let's finish this with your biggest attack yet, Fafnir!"

"Orpheus!"

"Blow him away, Diego!"

All three elemental attacks hit the Shadow at once, throwing it back. Sumire ran forward with her Persona, knocking their foe to the floor with two ethereal swords. It swivelled up, to bump its head into Sumire's rifle. A single shot echoed through the room and the Shadow collapsed before crumbling away.

"Wow, nice double hit at the end there, Violet!"

"Thank you, Mona-senpai!"

"Hey, isn't that what I did before? You know, the whole 'finishing a foe off with a point-blank gunshot' move?" Ren raised an eyebrow and Sumire started to blush, but he smiled and gave her a thumbs up, which made her beam at him instead, though her cheeks remained a rosy pink. He looked around. "Okay," he said as he watched everyone catch their breath. "Let's take a sec to rest and push on." He looked to the stairs and frowned.

"No Shadow yet, huh?" asked Sumire.

"You read my mind." He gave her another smile and she gave him a small one in return. "I hope we see it soon." He looked back to see Morgana and Hanako ready for action. "You good to go?" he asked his girlfriend.

"Yep!"

"Then let's push on."

* * *

The slope led them to another mess of crystalline walls. Ren pinched his nose. "I didn't think it'd be easy, I suppose." A roar broke him from his reverie and he looked up to see another minotaur stomp around the corner. However, this one wore golden chains around its neck and wrists. It also had a red and gold mane and horns, giving its upside down mask the appearance of being surrounded by a ring of fire. Unlike in their first encounter with its lookalike, it lowered its horns and charged right away. Ren already had Fafnir at the front of his mind, so it was a simple matter to block the attack and force the beast back. However, it roared and summoned a mass of black and white orbs above it and fired them at each and every one of them before Ren could shout out a warning, knocking them all to the floor.

"I got this!" Hanako got on all fours and shot herself, willing Orpheus to heal them while also giving them all a burst of added strength.

"I should save my physical strength," Ren heard Sumire mumble as they all got to their feet. She held her mask and shouted "Ella!" Her Persona appeared and danced through the air before throwing her bouquet over her head. It exploded in front of the Shadow and it fell to its knees. "Yes!"

Ren grinned. "Great work! Now, Fafnir!" A Nuclear blast hit the Shadow just as it tried to stand and set it to the floor. "Two sequential weaknesses, great! Now, while it's down!" The Thieves charged, slashing away at the Shadow until it roared and flipped onto its feet, stumbling a little from the weight of the many wounds - both big and small - that racked its body. "Violet, do the honors!"

"With pleasure!" She summoned Ella again and fired a second blast of holy energy at the Shadow. This time, the beast exploded alongside the bouquet.

"Excellent!" Ren brushed himself off. "Is everyone ready to go?" The others cheered in the affirmative so he smiled and drank some of his medicine, topping off the healing Hanako had provided earlier. He watched the others do the same before continuing. "We all took a decent hit there. Melody healed us, but keep an eye on yourselves." Not counting the one warp partway through, he was sure they'd climbed close to 30 floors now. They were definitely becoming more efficient as a team, but they weren't immune to fatigue.

They fought through a few more floors of red minotaurs and white birds. As they approached the next set of stairs after tearing through a group of the latter, Morgana stopped them.

"Guys, I'm detecting another big Shadow up ahead. I can't tell where it is exactly, but we really need to make sure we keep our energy up from here on. No putting on brave faces. Is everyone doing okay?"

The three humans exchanged glances. Ren wondered if they were all too embarrassed to admit they were tired so let himself sag against one of the pristine walls. "How are you two doing?" he asked again.

"I'm fine, Senpai."

"Then I envy you, Violet-chan..." Hanako bent over. Ren took a closer look at Sumire. While she was coping much better than the three of them combined, her face was still more haggard than he would have liked.

"Let's take a break then," he said, sliding to the floor. "Hopefully we don't get ambushed." He produced a small bag of snacks from his pocket. He helped himself to one of the protein bars he'd bought the previous day and slid the bag across the floor. It ended up next to Hanako who had sat down in the middle of the group. "It's not much, but let's resupply now while we can."

Hanako took out another of the protein bars, turning it over in her hands. "Violet recommended those," he explained. Hanako pivoted on the spot to look at him as he added "so you know they're healthy."

"Oh, then they _must_ be!" They turned to Sumire, who blushed.

"Well...I need to know these things as a gymnast, you know?" She mumbled. Ren grinned as Hanako slid the bag to Morgana, who was closest to her.

"I wish we'd had you with us since Day 1, huh Mona?"

"Yeah! You're way more useful than Ryuji!"

"M - Mona-senpai, please don't say things like that..." she trailed off, but her smile had only widened. Morgana closed the bag and kicked it to her with both legs. Ren couldn't help but feel bad about his size as he did so. Morgana's talents had more than a few drawbacks...

"Oh, that reminds me," he said, pointing a half-eaten bar at the smaller Thief "you can detect those bigger Shadows from further away now?"

"Yeah. This place is so weird it keeps messing with my senses, but we've been here long enough that I'm getting used to it...I think. Oracle probably could have gotten the hang of it sooner, I have to admit." Ren remembered Sumire's misgivings when they first entered the tower and glanced at her to see a guilty expression already on her face. They locked eyes and she blushed, looking away and hiding her new expression behind a half-eaten apple. He chuckled.

"Well, better late than never. Thanks, buddy. At least now we have something to look forward to." He finished his bar and looked up. Hanako and Morgana finished soon after, leaving only Sumire still eating. The three of them watched her with wry smiles until she realised the same thing.

She froze and finished her cereal bar, cleared her throat loudly, then started placing the small pile of snacks she'd helped herself to back in the bag one by one without making a sound nor eye contact with anyone. Given how bright her face was, Ren suspected she was trying not to scream. The bag refilled, she slid it to Hanako.

"You can have more if you want you know, this isn't a competition."

"U - um, I'm fine Senpai! I...um, I'm still a little hungry, I guess, but I'm full of energy now. I promise!"

"Are you sure?"

"Y - yes!"

Ren got up. Hanako held the bag up for him as he walked past and he took it, digging out an apple and two more protein bars and placing them in Sumire's lap. She looked up.

"Just keep them in one of your pockets or something," he smiled. She gave him a shy smile in return.

"Th - thank you, Senpai! The apple won't fit though." She giggled and gave it back to him as she too stood up, tucking the two bars into one of the inside pockets of her jacket.

"I'm amazed you even have pockets," said Hanako as she and Morgana also stood up to leave. "It's good you have a jacket, huh?" She paused, mouth half-open as she looked Sumire up and down. "Um...I didn't want to say anything before because I know it's a leotard and you're a gymnast, but now that we have time I have to ask: your outfit doesn't really have...much, does it? I mean in terms of..." she motioned to her own legs at which point Sumire looked down and blushed.

"Uh...um!" She crossed her legs and covered her exposed skin with her hands. "I - I didn't choose my outfit, so this isn't my fault! It just...oh look, more Shadows! We should fight now!" She pointed to the air. Ren chuckled at her attempt at a distraction and turned to humor her.

...and almost swore when he saw three white birds flying towards them.

"Break time really is over, huh? Okay then, let's get 'em!"

* * *

Thankfully, a simple "Hey, I don't mind your outfit at all! I think it suits you, Violet-chan!" was all Sumire needed to hear to stop covering her thighs again as soon as the battle ended, so it was with her regular gait that she climbed the slope alongside them. The next few floors threw the three previous types of Shadow at them, seemingly at random. The Thieves fought through them all, but took enough damage from their continuous fighting - especially whenever the two types of Minotaurs appeared together - that they had gone back to healing with their skills instead of medicine. Ren worried that they'd run out of energy as he watched them check up on each other in front of another slope before he was interrupted by Morgana prodding his leg.

"Yeah?"

"This is where I sensed the big Shadow, Joker."

"Right, thanks." He drank some medicine from his pouch and turned to the others. "Let's take a few minutes here. All we know about what's coming next is that it's going to be big." They nodded and healed themselves up once more. Sumire also ate her two protein bars, though not before offering them to the others and them declining. _Bless her,_ he thought as he watched her lick her fingers clean.

She handed the used wrappers to him, but he shrugged.

"You can just drop them here. Mona said the floors change once we leave them, right? They'll probably stop existing once we go up."

"I know that's what we did before, but..." she thought for a moment, then slipped the wrappers into her jacket. "To be honest I still feel a little bad about that. If it wasn't for those birds..." she trailed off.

"What's there to feel bad about?" asked Morgana. "There are only Shadows here, remember? Oh - unless you're thinking about that human-looking Shadow?"

She paused, then nodded.

"Well, even then!" Morgana continued. "This place is gonna disappear once we send the calling card, remember? So there's no point in being considerate of anyone here."

"I know, but still..." She tapped her forefingers together.

Ren chuckled. "Do what you want," he told her. She smiled. Morgana rolled his eyes, but couldn't help smiling too.

_Really: bless her._

They sat down for a few more minutes to rest their limbs, though Ren couldn't help noticing that all four of them were already tensed for the fight ahead.

"Senpai," said Sumire eventually, getting to her feet. "I'm ready now."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded and Hanako also stood up. "I'm good to go too. Besides, if we wait too long we may get ambushed, remember?"

"...alright then." He got up and stretched once more for good measure. "Mona?"

"Do you even need to ask?" The cat followed and put his hands on his hips.

"I guess not," Ren smiled and turned around, coat flaps rising for a moment with the motion. They went upstairs and walked into the arena before them to see their next foe.

"Uh..." asked Morgana. "What the heck is that?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to apologise for how the last chapter ended as people started coming up with crazy theories for what everyone saw. My bad! As always, I hope you like this chapter and how everything's paced. Thank you for your continued support!
> 
> Also, (not counting the prologue) we just hit 20 Chapters! Thank you for sticking with me so long, I hope you'll stay with this story until the end!
> 
> P.S. I wasn't sure if Sumire wanting to keep the Palace clean made her _too_ naive or not, but I figured Makoto and Ann would have felt the same about Futaba's Palace so I kept that moment in. I would greatly appreciate your opinion on that scene too. Thanks again!


	22. Chapter 21

A giant, obese white Shadow on a silver rocking horse awaited them. It had two small arms jutting out of its chest that were handcuffed together. It had two ordinary and unbound arms too, but when it flexed them Ren could see yet another pair poking out of its back. Its front arms gripped the reins of its steed as it roared, raising its other four limbs. Huge white and black orbs appeared before it and burst into beams of Almighty energy, throwing the Thieves back. It formed a large arc of energy above it and threw that too. Ren deflected it with Fafnir, but the Shadow just absorbed it. He ordered his Persona to use a Nuclear attack, which made the Shadow stumble. The others also fired elemental Skills. Sumire's bounced off with no effect but the Shadow absorbed the others, its skin glowing red and green around their respective impact points.

"No way..." muttered Sumire. Ren bit his lip. All three of those elements did nothing? The Shadow fired more almighty energy.

"Dodge as best you can!" He yelled. The group scattered. Ren twisted as a beam of mixed light approached him but it hit his shoulder, sending him spinning into the ground. He rolled into a crouch and saw only Sumire left standing. She looked at them all, horrified.

"We're fine!" He felt Hanako heal and strengthen them as they got back onto their feet. This time the Shadow hurled a giant, shining spear at him. He repelled it with Fafnir, wincing as the spear headed directly for the Shadow. However, the Shadow didn't absorb it, instead skidding back with the impact, the base of its horse producing an ear-rending screech as it dragged against the floor. Morgana followed with four fists, but the Shadow didn't even try to block, its skin instead glowing where each punch landed. Morgana hissed. Ren touched his mask again and called Shiva, the purple-skinned diety blasting their foe with severe Psychic waves. The Shadow slid back again. _At least that works..._

"Be careful!" He yelled. "This thing's absorbing most of our attacks, they're healing it back up!"

"Senpai, I want to try something!"

"What? ...nevermind, go for it!"

"Thank you, Senpai! Cover me!" She darted forward and Ren cast another Psychic attack to stun the giant as she drew close, but it still managed to throw a giant spear at her. He shouted her name, but she simply spun away from the attack and kept running.

"What grace..." he heard Hanako mutter. He agreed.

Now within attacking range, Sumire jumped and plunged the tip of her rapier into the Shadow's chest. It screeched and tried to grab her but she kicked off of its thigh, tearing her blade out of its flesh as she flipped in the air and landed on the floor again. She flourished her sword. "I knew it! We need to be precise, everyone! It can't handle attacks like that! That's why the spear Joker-senpai deflected hurt it!"

"Great work, Violet!" said Morgana. Ren agreed with the sentiment, but before he could say anything the Shadow roared. The air filled with dust, clogging up his nose. He spluttered and saw the Shadow raise its arms, palms outward.

"Oh no, you don't!" Ren pulled out his pistol and fired. His first two shots missed, but the next four punched holes through its stomach. It bellowed. "Precision, huh? Use your guns, everyone!"

"Right!" He heard the distinctive _thwip_ of Morgana's slingshot as large stones pelted the Shadow's skull. Ren forced air out of his stuffy nose and realized what the Shadow had been trying to do. He grinned and called on Shiva again. The god of destruction danced on the spot and the Shadow roared, rocking faster and faster as it shook its head and formed another spear. It hurled it at him, but Ren switched to Fafnir to knock the massive needle right back. The giant screamed as it crashed into its chest.

"Senpai? What did you do?" Sumire braced herself as the Shadow bellowed again.

"It made us weaker so I made it mad! It'll be more careless!"

"And more dangerous!" shouted Morgana as he dodged another spear, the Shadow's rocking becoming more and more erratic.

"I like those odds!" Hanako ran around the Shadow, searching for a clear angle before raising her now black gun and shooting it twice in the side of the head. It screeched and turned to her, but Ren had other plans.

"I'm not done with you yet!" Shiva danced again, this time buffeting the beast with another blast of mental energy. It clutched its head and screamed, the attack ravaging its already addled mind. It shook from side to side before sagging, gasping for breath. "Now, Violet!"

"Yes, Senpai?"

"It's weak to precision, yes? So, your rapier and my bullets?"

She only needed a split second to understand him. "Yes! Watch this, Melody-san!"

"Huh?"

Sumire ran towards Ren and jumped as he threw his grapple out to just above the giant's head. He shot forward, scooping her up out of the air and tossing her forward halfway through his ascent. He retracted the hook, letting momentum carry the two forward as he threw it out again to the same place, feeling Sumire grab onto his back as they reunited directly above the Shadow. Their original momentum carried them forward still, but the wire grew taut and them back into a circle. Ren opened fire on the dazed Shadow, the two completing a full orbit before he threw her up one more time. She flipped over and fell head first with her sword outstretched, tearing a straight line through the beast's body before she landed and darted all around, stabbing every inch of flesh she could reach before the Shadow gave out its loudest scream yet and sank into its chair. She felt Ren beside her as the Shadow's skin began to peel away and she pulled him to her, spinning into his arms as they heard the beast burst behind them.

"Senpai..." she murmured, looking up at him with a beaming smile. "I was hoping we could do that at some point."

"What, did you want to show off for Melody?"

"Uh!" A faint pink colored her cheeks before she pouted. "...yeah."

He chuckled and pulled her to her feet as Hanako and Morgana approached. "Violet always deals the final blow," he explained "...and she almost always pulls me into that pose, too."

"S - Senpai! You can't just say something like that!" But Hanako just clapped, a huge grin plastered on her face.

"That was incredible! Spectacular! And so romantic! You didn't do the pose last time, did you Violet-chan?"

"Huh? Well...no, it wasn't really appropriate to do it there...it was a really tough fight, after all."

"That's true. And I didn't really get to take it in properly then due to...you know, everything going on, so I'm glad you two put on a repeat performance now," she folded her arms. "I have to say though, you're a lot more confident in this world, aren't you?" She glanced from one teen to the other and smirked. "And much more proactive."

"H - huh?" Sumire jumped away from Ren - who'd still had his arm around her waist - and brushed her bangs out of her face. "U - um..!"

"Then again, your senpai is too, so I guess that's another thing you two can bond over."

"Wait - " Ren toyed with his hair " - I am?"

"Of course," Morgana laughed. "You seriously didn't notice? It's like night and day compared to how you are at school!"

"...huh. I didn't think I was _that_ different." He thought for a moment before letting a second, quieter "Huh." He chuckled and tucked his hands in his pockets. "You hear that, Violet? There's another thing we have in common!" He pulled Sumire back to him and she blushed, looking away. "What, you don't like it?"

"What? No! Senpai, of course I do! Y - you just surprised me..!"

Ren laughed again and let her go. "I'm glad to hear it. Now!" He turned to the others. "Shall we continue?" Everyone nodded. "Alright. We had two big fights in the last area too, so hopefully this means we can go further now. Let's refuel while we can."

Everyone healed up. Once he was satisfied with their health he led them up the slope, sighing at the lack of feeling in his gut once they neared the top.

"I guess we really are doing this the old fashioned way..."

* * *

Ren counted nine more floors of the same crystalline walls as they fought through more of the Shadows they'd encountered thus far, including another grueling encounter with both types of minotaurs at once. Despite them only seeing two variations in the tower's aesthetic in their current excursion, Ren was almost certain they'd climbed as many floors as they had the day before, if not more: even Sumire was beginning to slow down by the time they reached the next slope. The party went up it and tensed at the sight of another open room before them. They exchanged nervous glances before creeping forwards, looking in all directions.

Nothing happened.

Even once they reached the middle of the room: nothing happened. Ren looked at the high ceiling. There weren't any birds waiting to ambush them either. They made their way to the slope at the other end and looked around again in the thick silence.

"Uh...what's going on?" Morgana frowned, grip still firm on his scimitar.

"This feels like a trap," muttered Sumire.

"Yeah," Ren nodded. "Morgana, you lead the way up. I'll keep an eye back here."

"Got it."

They proceeded single file to the next floor, Ren preparing for a floating sensation as they neared the top, but it never came. Sumire tapped his shoulder once they arrived and he turned around to see yet another arena.

"...what?"

They crept forward again, this time backed up in a diamond formation, eyes darting all around them. Ren cursed as he felt his heart rate skyrocket. Anticipating a threat was far more draining than actually fighting one! If that was what the Shadows had planned for them...well, it was working.

They continued to the centre of the room before Morgana hissed, but even then his voice boomed in the silence.

"Joker! Another Will Seed!"

Ren looked to his left to see a third corridor leading to marble double doors. He looked in the opposite direction but saw no teleporter accompanying it. He took a deep breath.

"Okay, everyone: brace yourselves. Melody, it's usually the third Seed that has a Shadow protecting it. We already fought a guardian though, so this next fight may be even worse."

"Got it."

Everyone nodded to one another before breaking formation. Ren led the way down the corridor, though the Thieves kept throwing glances above and behind them as they walked. He slashed the vessels covering the doors, stepping back to avoid the ensuing burst of blood, even keeping his sleeves clean this time. He looked around them. Still nothing. He grunted as he pushed the doors aside, then looked inside. It looked just like the other Seed rooms, silent and rotting. Even applying the enhanced senses the fake Igor had given him revealed no hidden Shadows or traps, yet he still pressed a finger to his lips as he led the others in. He kept his gaze locked on the Seed's plinth as he stepped up to it and a few seconds longer until, eventually, he took the Seed from it.

Nothing happened.

Ren looked outside. Nothing had spawned behind them either. He looked back at the Seed in his hand. Blue.

"I...guess this Palace messed with the natural order of these things too?" Morgana thought aloud.

"Perhaps," he replied as the Seed twitched. The other two Seeds materialized in the air and the blue one joined them. The spun around each other, emitting green, red and blue light.

"Is this normal?" asked Hanako.

"Yes," said Sumire as the Seeds spun faster and faster. Their lights blended, forming a pure white aura that expanded outward. The Thieves shielded their eyes until it faded and a three headed crystal skull landed in Ren's waiting palm.

"Uh...what is that?"

"This is something that happens with Will Seeds," explained Morgana. "Each Palace has three of them. Once we collect them all, they fuse into an item we can use to help us on our journey. Oh! But we also know someone who can tweak this to make it even better. So Joker, what is this one gonna do for us?"

Ren turned it over in his hands to appraise it and felt...nothing.

"Huh?"

He applied his enhanced senses. Usually that was enough to get a feeling for what benefit something would have for them in the Metaverse, but this still just...

"Feels like nothing." He finished the thought aloud. He gave it to Morgana who also examined it from multiple angles before handing it back with a frown.

"That's weird..." he looked at the dead vines on the walls. "Maybe it has something to do with why we haven't heard any voices from here? That implies that the Ruler is either _incredibly_ secretive or simply doesn't understand their own feelings. But even Dr. Maruki understood on some level that not everyone would accept what he was doing, right?"

"So..." Sumire tilted her head. "We need to make the Ruler admit or realize why they have a Palace?"

"Either that or we just go straight for the change of heart, since most of the time that makes the Ruler confront their desires anyway," said Ren. "But even if that doesn't work, Jose may know something. I mean, studying something from as weird a Palace as this one would be a dream come true for the guy, right?"

"Uh, excuse me, who's Jose?" Hanako half raised her hand from the back of the group.

"We...actually don't know," Ren chuckled as the Crystal vanished in a smaller flash of light. "He looks and acts like a little kid, but he says he's not human and lives in the Metaverse, so - "

" _Lives_ in the Metaverse?!" Hanako covered her mouth for an moment before composing herself. "Oh, I'm sorry for interrupting, but he lives here?" She looked around the room and the corridor outside. "You say he's just a little kid too...and here I thought I wouldn't get surprised anymore," she chuckled. "You really know all sorts of people."

Sumire giggled. "I thought the _exact_ same thing when Senpai and the other Thieves introduced me to him!"

"Oh! Well, I guess we sisters think alike, huh?" Hanako winked, but the younger girl's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped.

"Um...yeah!" She looked away, cheeks flushed. Ren smiled and patted her on the back.

"You said it first, you know."

She nodded. "I - I know, it's just...you surprised me, Melody-san."

Melody's smile turned warm. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that, but I am happy we even have things like our reactions to stuff in common."

Sumire was quiet for a while before she looked at her. "...me too." She gave Hanako a shy smile before turning away again. Ren patted her on the back once more, then manoeuvred around the others to stand in front of the doorway. He led them back out, throwing more glances in all directions as they went, but there were still no Shadows ambushing them even once they returned to the centre of the room.

"Well, we still have more ground to cover everyone, so let's keep our guard up!" The women were still smiling at each other, but they turned back at his words and nodded.

"Right!"

"Lead the way, Joker."

"...actually," Morgana walked past him and looked up the stairs. "I think this is it."

"Huh?"

"The Treasure. I think the Will Seed was interfering with my senses, but now that it's gone I'm sure, the Treasure's almost right on top of us!"

"Really? That's great! Okay everyone, be extra careful here, let's go!"

"Yeah!" added Morgana. "There's still a chance we could get ambushed too. Everyone keep your eyes peeled!"

* * *

As they walked up the longest slope yet, Ren heard Sumire talking to Hanako. "Oh, that's right: this is your first time seeing a Treasure, isn't it?"

"That's right. What does it look like?" Ren looked back and nodded to himself: even though they were talking the girls were still looking around, hands on their weapons.

"They're different for each Palace. Actually, this is my first time seeing one before sending a calling card; apparently they only take a proper shape after you do that."

"A calling card, huh? I take it they're not all verbal like mine was?"

Sumire opened her mouth, but before she could reply they heard Morgana from the top of the 'stairwell'. "Woah..."

Ren was only a few steps behind and his jaw dropped too. "Woah..."

They'd exited onto a small landing on the outside of the tower. There was a flight of actual steps spiralling along the outside, but it had no railings. On the other hand, the fierce winds had died down so they could walk without fear of being blown away, though they still kept a hand pressed to the wall as they went up, trying not to look at the horizon - or rather, the void that had replaced it, so small now that they were so high up...

Ren shook his head and focused on simply putting one foot in front of the other.

After a minute of walking they reached the peak. The top of the tower was a flat circle that seemed to be made up of marble slabs, the edges of which formed what Ren assumed were random lines and shapes overlapping each other, all different shades of grey. Placed at regular intervals around the edge - with the exception of three rectangular platforms leading to stairs like those they'd just taken - were pillars with what appeared to be raven statues facing inward, though a seemingly infinite number of feathers were being plucked out of their spread wings by the breeze. And in the centre of all this...

"The Shadow!" Sumire cried.

Everyone gripped their weapons, but let out quiet breaths when they saw the living silhouette they had been following standing in the exact middle of the roof, staring at the sky. They walked onto the marble surface, though they all remained tense.

"I thought we were gonna have to fight," Ren muttered.

"As long as we don't pull a Ryuji here, we won't have to."

"...Mona-senpai?"

"Long story," Ren answered. Once they got close enough the Shadow glanced at them, then looked back at the sky. Curious, Ren followed its gaze. "Oh, wow."

The others looked up. There were still dark clouds surrounding them, but the sky directly above them was clear and illuminated by a now shining white moon.

Wait.

Shining?

"Joker! That's it! That's the Treasure!"

Ren looked again and noticed the familiar multicolored haze around the white orb. It wasn't the moon after all: the Treasure had appeared directly beneath it.

"So...this is our route?" asked Sumire. "But...it's so far up, I think even you would have trouble getting up there, Mona-senpai! Dr. Maruki gave us a path to get to his Treasure but how can we get up there? Oh, and do you know why we can see it now? We couldn't when we looked at the Palace from outside before..."

"Maybe we had to climb the tower manually to make the Treasure appear," said Morgana. Ren glanced at the Shadow, but it was still looking at the moon as if the talking cat wasn't even there. "Same for the wind, which means we can probably fly up and down from here from now on. As for getting to the Treasure, don't worry. We'll try the helicopter if we have to, but even if it's out of reach now, we'll be able to get it once we send the calling card...though we still don't know who to even give it to..."

The three exchanged glances. Hanako's silence drew their attention to her: she was still staring at the Shadow. "Um..." began Sumire "do you recognize it, Melody-san?"

"...no, but...I feel like I should." Even as the topic of conversation the Shadow didn't turn. "Um...excuse me?"

The Shadow simply glanced at her, then looked back at the moon. Now that it was saying still though, Ren could finally take a proper look at it. It was indeed feminine as they'd suspected before and was an inch or two shorter than Sumire. He wondered if she(?) was the Shadow of a teenager.

"Are you sure you don't recognize it?"

"No, I don't. Why, Mona?"

"It's just that this Palace also manifested inside yours so I thought..." Morgana shook his head. "Nevermind. More importantly, we have our route now _and_ an easy way to get back up here. We've also found all three Will Seeds and met this Shadow girl again..." he paused and they turned to the unresponsive figure "...so we should be good to go, yeah?" He went back to the top of the stairwell and looked around before sighing as Ren and Hanako joined him. "There's not enough room to transform here without breaking my propellers against these pillars though. Too bad that Shadow isn't budging..."

"Well, maybe you could jump and transform in midair?" Hanako tapped her cheek.

"Are you serious?! How could you possibly think - "

"Um...excuse me, Shadow-san!"

The trio exchanged glances at the high-pitched voice and turned to see Sumire still standing where they'd been before, now lightly tapping the Shadow's shoulder.

"That idiot! What the heck is she doing?"

The Shadow turned her head to look at her as if she were a slow-moving automaton.

"Um...could you tell us whose Shadow you are, please?"

Silence.

Sumire took a step back and Ren knew she was wincing as she hugged herself.

"Um, then...could you, um...move a little, please? I'm sorry to bother you, but my friend Mona-senpai probably needs a little more space to transform so we can go home safely. Is that okay with you? You'll only need to move for a short while, I promise."

The Shadow stared at her for a few seconds.

Then she backed away.

The other three walked up to her with slack jaws as she bowed. "Thank you so much!"

"So. That Shadow can't talk, but it can still understand us, huh? Interesting," said Morgana.

"She's very kind."

"Really? All it did was move when you asked it to."

"But she did, didn't she Mona-senpai?"

"Hmm..." Morgana crossed his arms but Ren patted Sumire on the back again.

"That's my girl." She blushed. Hanako smiled and folded her arms.

"Some people may call that kindness cliched, but I still think it's nice to have you." She winked.

"Th - thank you..." She frowned as a thought occurred to her. "Hey, don't you think...no, nevermind." She turned to the Shadow and back. "Let's not keep her waiting."

Morgana nodded and turned into a helicopter. The three of them got in and Morgana rose into the air. They all looked out of his open door to see the Shadow staring at them as they descended down the side of the tower. Before Ren could slide Morgana closed, Sumire held her arm out and waved.

"We'll be back soon!" She yelled. "Don't worry, we'll do our best to help you!"

The Shadow did nothing. Sumire sat back and Ren shut the door. The three humans kept their eyes on the Shadow through the window. She in turn watched them as she walked back to the centre of the roof, turning her eyes back to the moon just as they dropped out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you as always for your support, everyone! I hope you like this chapter's combat and interactions too!


	23. Chapter 22

The world shifted back to normal around the quartet. The exchanged triumphant smiles...

...then all but Sumire slumped into their seats.

She looked from one to the other, shocked, before sitting next to Ren.

 _At least that part's different from yesterday,_ he thought to himself. She gave him a worried look that he waved off with a smile.

"It's fine. Today was better than before."

She was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "That's true...does everyone else feel the same?"

Hanako and Morgana nodded as well, the latter also hopping onto the couch between the teenagers.

"Well, now that we have our route, we - "

" - oh, we need to send the calling card, correct?"

The trio looked up at a beaming Hanako.

"...yeah; that's correct, Hanako-san." Morgana nodded. "Of course, we still haven't gotten any new information about the Ruler, that's unfortunate..."

"Um!"

Now it was Sumire's turn to be the centre of attention. Her cheeks turned a faint pink under their three pairs of eyes.

"Um..." she repeated. "I...I want to try something. C - Can I write the calling card this time, please?"

Morgana perked up. "Wait, you know who to give it to?"

"Well...I'm not entirely sure, but if you don't know either... I - I just have a _feeling_..." she clenched her fists as she said the word. "I know it's not much to go on, but can you trust me, please? I know I'm not as good as Yusuke-senpai, but...I really want to do this!" She looked from Ren to Morgana and back again with glistening red orbs. The boys shared a look before returning her gaze.

"Well, if it's that important to you, we won't stop you." Ren smiled at her. She in turn beamed, stood and bowed to the both of them.

"Hey!" he laughed "you don't need to go _that_ far!" He patted the space beside him. "Sit down, sit down!"

She did so with another faint blush.

"Besides," said Morgana as if nothing had happened. "It's not like we're trying to hide from all of Japan this time, so we don't need to be worried about _perfect_ anonymity for this heist, you just need to get the point across and be 'secretive enough'. In fact, this is actually the best time to practice writing a calling card, not to mention it'd be good to have someone else learn how to do it as well: we can't keep relying on Yusuke forever. Or Ryuji," he added with a light shudder, "so go nuts!"

"Thank you so much, Senpais!" She didn't stand this time, but she still gave them a small bow from her seat. Ren and Morgana smiled at the sight.

"A calling card, huh?" said Hanako as Sumire raised her head again. "I was going to say this in the Palace, but I forgot: I remember seeing those on TV! You really are Phantom Thieves, huh? It's so stylish, I'm so excited!"

"Well, we still need to be on guard." Morgana hopped over Ren to stand on the end of the couch closest to Hanako. The Thieves' leader was impressed at the cat's sudden burst of energy but realised the current discussion was giving him a steady flow of adrenaline too. "That said," Morgana continued. "It's still a good idea to deal with this Palace as soon as possible, for Sumire's sake."

Hearing this, the redhead jumped to her feet and bowed before them again, half-shouting a "I'm so sorry!"

Ren winced at the sound and waved her back to her seat for the second time. "It's fine," he said once she sat down, patting the back of her left hand. "Besides, I think it's safe to say we're all curious about what's going on - isn't that right?"

He glanced at Morgana and Hanako.

They nodded.

He looked at Sumire.

She nodded too.

"See?" He smiled. "So we'd want to do this ASAP even if you weren't buying time for yourself."

"Well...I guess that's true..." Sumire turned her hand around and entwined her fingers in his. "But still! Please...don't rush into anything for my sake."

"Hey!" Hanako leaned forward with a smirk. "Aren't you the one who _just_ told that Shadow girl we'd 'be back soon'?"

Sumire's cheeks turned pink again.

"Uh...u - um...well yeah, I do want to help whoever's Shadow that is as soon as possible, but..."

"Then it's settled, isn't it?" Ren patted her on the back. "Sumire, if you really think you know where to send that calling card, you have our blessing. We can even go to the Palace tomorrow if you want. Is that okay with everyone?" He looked at Morgana and Hanako, who nodded. He turned back to see Sumire watching them a moment longer, catching herself in the ensuing silence and giving him a hurried nod of her own. He smiled and squeezed her shoulder, then turned to the other woman in the room. "This is going to be dangerous Hanako-san, but you've improved so much in such a short time that...I think we can do this."

Hanako's face lit up like a beacon at the praise and she nodded once more, now with added vigor. "I'll make sure not to betray your trust in me."

"Okay then!" He smiled back at her and pushed himself to his feet, biting back a groan as dull pains burst into life across his limbs. "Meeting adjourned, everyone! Let's get as much rest as we can today - athletes exempted unless they think they need it, of course - " he winked at the sole athlete in the room and she flashed him a shy smile in return "so we can infiltrate the Palace tomorrow. And with that..." he bent his arms and windmilled his elbows as he shook his legs. Much better. "I think I can walk home today, Hanako-san. We got a proper night's rest this time after all, and I don't want to intrude on you again - "

"Absolutely not!" Ren almost tripped over himself at the sound of her voice as she jumped to her feet with her hands on her hips, wearing a deep scowl. "You're going to sleep right now, mister. Don't think I can't see you trying to act all cool and tough there. That may work on Sumire-chan but it won't work on me!"

Ren's jaw dropped and hung there. From the corner of his eye he saw the same had happened to Sumire, though she also had a faint blush to go along with her expression. A few seconds passed before he and Sumire burst into laughter. He spotted the horrified look on Morgana's face as he looked at Hanako from his perch, the older woman now standing with folded arms, before hopping off the couch and slinking away to behind Ren's legs.

"Is that what I used to sound like..?" He heard the cat mutter.

* * *

Ren groaned as he opened his eyes. He tried to sit up, but felt the familiar weight of a sleeping Morgana on his gut, keeping him bedbound. He yawned and looked to his right. A sharp pang of _something_ filled him as his sleepy gaze took in the distinct lack of red-headed kouhais beside him.

 _Wait, why does that make me feel so..._ empty _?_ After all, she was probably just making a snack or talking to Hanako or something. Besides, Morgana was making him feel like he'd just got back from the Wilton Buffet, so...

_Get it together, you sleepy dolt._

He tried to lift Morgana off of himself, but in doing so woke him up instead. He apologised, but the cat just stretched, looked around hopped onto the carpet. Ren smiled.

"You know you can get some more sleep if you need it, right?"

"N - naaaahhh," Morgana yawned. "I'm up. I'm ready to go if you are. Come on, let's go find Sumire."

"Heh. If you say so." _Thanks, kitty._

_...you know me too well._

The pair lumbered into the hallway, Ren stifling a yawn of his own, and heard muffled voices further down it. The pair exchanged glances at started walking. They walked past the stairs they'd climbed what felt like ages ago now and arrived in front of a door that Ren assumed was Hanako's room, given the voices - now loud enough to distinguish - he could make out behind it. He pushed it open and sure enough there was a pouting Hanako in a nightdress trying to...

Huh?

He took in the scene again. Right now Hanako was half-wrestling a Sumire that was currently tucked into what he assumed was Hanako's own bed. He chuckled and walked inside, his presence breaking Sumire's attention for the moment Hanako needed to push her flat. Ren sat on the edge of the mattress and patted the top of the younger girl's head, who in turn blushed and covered it with her quilt. He muffled a second laugh and looked up to see an exasperated look on Hanako's face.

"Thank goodness you're here, Ren-kun: she keeps saying she doesn't need to rest because she's 'used to strenuous activity as a gymnast'!"

"I am!" came a muffled cry. Ren bit his lip.

"Well, she does handle physical activity better than the rest of us," he told Hanako before turning to the outline of a face behind him. "But you can take it easy if you want to Sumire, you know that, right?"

The redhead poked her eyes out, the quilt tugging slightly against the tip of her small nose as he continued.

"You're working hard too, you're allowed to take a power nap before you go to practive. And let us coddle you, for crying out loud! You looked after all three of us yesterday, remember?"

Her forehead turned bright red and she mumbled something that sounded a lot like "Please don't say it like that." It was muffled slightly by the blanket, but he was sure he heard correctly.

"Like...what?"

"C - c - coddling!" Even through the blanket he could make out that she was pouting. "But if you're sure, um...I would like a nap..."

"Now was that so hard?" Hanako smirked before stretching. "Alright then: we won't coddle you, but we'll treat you to some extra special care instead. How about that?" She winked and walked to the door, she paused with a hand on it. "Oh, I'll have some fruit salad ready for you when you wake up, okay? Sleep tight, Princess!"

She shut the door behind her. Ren looked back at Sumire and patted her head until she poked the rest of her tomato-colored face out, chuckling to himself.

"Well, tomorrow's the big day," he murmured, stroking her bangs to one side. "Are you sure you're ready? We have more time if you want it; you don't need to feel guilty or that you have to rush to do this."

"No, I'm ready. And I _want_ to do this quickly." Her eyes hardened for a moment. "Tomorrow we send the calling card and save...whoever it is that needs to be saved. It'll help Hanako-san too, right? I know she has a Persona now, but this Palace appeared inside hers, so..."

"I don't know," Morgana jumped on the bed and curled up beside her. "This is completely new to me too, but...this Palace had to have done _something_ to her to do that..."

"Hmm..." Sumire nodded. "Also, I've been wondering this since we started climbing it yesterday, but...the tower appeared where her school used to be, didn't it? That's where we fought two of those large Shadows too. So if the tower appeared there and not in some random location then...it has to be related to her somehow, right? Maybe Makoto-senpai and Futaba-senpai were correct about what they said before?"

"About that being where she lost her memory?" Ren toyed with a lock of his hair. "It'd make sense. She said she lost it eight years ago, give or take, and she even said she was in high school at the time. I reckon she'd have been the same age that Shadow appears to be too..."

Morgana perked up and looked at him, then Sumire. "So we're all on the same page, huh?" He asked, turning back to Ren.

"But that doesn't make sense," he replied. "She already has a Persona, so how could she have a Shadow? Didn't you say Shadows and Personas the same thing?"

"Yeah, they are. That's what confuses me too."

Sumire tried to sit up but Ren pressed a hand against her forehead. She pouted at him, cheeks tinged pink all of a sudden, and lay back down before turning her head to the side so she could face the feline.

"But didn't you say you had a theory, Morgana-senpai?"

"Yeah I did, but...I'm still not sure about it." Morgana brushed his whiskers. "You...you do your thing first, Sumire. I'm worried I'll make a mess of things if my hunch is wrong.

Sumire nodded and stifled a yawn. "Okay, Morgana-senpai..." She curled up and Ren smiled as she closed her eyes.

"Very noble of you, Morgana." He murmured.

"Oh, be quiet."

* * *

Sumire awoke an hour later to feel Ren's hand stroking her back as she scrolled through his phone, still sitting on the edge of the bed. She yelped and sprang away from him, cheeks burning. Right on cue, Hanako threw the door open and leaned in, taking in the sight before placing her hand in front of her mouth. It was a poor attempt to hide her laughter, but Ren suspected that was the point.

"Ah, I _thought_ I heard the sound of a fair maiden being awoken from her slumber by a charming prince." She marched into the room as if she owned the place - which she did, now that he thought about it - and placed a bottle of water in Sumire's hands without waiting for a response, not that she could form one through her sudden spluttering, then spun on her heel and walked back to the door. "I just wanted to drop the water off, but if you three are up already, come on down! I'll get the salad ready for you. I have some for you too, Morgana!"

"Ooh, thank you!" Morgana stretched. "It's nice to be treated like a human for a change. How are you feeling, Sumire?"

"Um...I feel fully refreshed!" She smiled through her blush and sat up straight. "U - um, thank you for the opportunity, Hanako-san. And - uh...um!" Her face turned completely scarlet. "Th - thank you for p - patting me, Ren-s - senpai!"

Ren chuckled, but Hanako spoke before he could.

"He's a real gentleman, isn't he? I so envy you, Sumire-chan. I feel myself swoon every time I look at that smile of his."

She closed the door with a parting wink. Sumire and Ren exchanged glances - one shy, one awkward, both deeply embarrassed - before a scoff from Morgana brought them to their senses.

"Hurry up, let's go! Our salad awaits!"

The teens followed the cat to the dining room to see Hanako adding the finishing touches - a soft, white cream - to a bowl and three small plates of fresh fruit, the fruit on one of the plates having been peeled. This she placed on the floor when Morgana approached and he licked his lips.

"I love it already!"

The humans sat at the table and Sumire bit her lip when Hanako slid the bowl in front of her.

"Um...I'm sorry." The younger girl mumbled.

"Not at all," Hanako smiled. "You do more work, you get more food. That's how it works right? I mean, that's how it's _always_ worked, hasn't it? From all the way back in the olden days!" She stuck her tongue out. Sumire flashed her a shy smile.

"Um...I don't think that's the same thing, but...thank you." The four of them said their prayers and she stuck her fork into a slice of apple and dipped it in cream before raising it to her mouth. She took a small bite and her pink lips split into a wide smile. " _Oh_ , this is _delicious_! Senpai! Morgana-senpai! You need to try this!"

"W - wayy aghead o' - " Morgana swallowed. "Way ahead of you! You're great with this stuff, Hanako-san!"

"Oh, shush..." Hanako blushed and scratched her cheek. Ren took a bite of his own and couldn't help the smile that spread across his own face either. He looked up to see Hanako watching him. He widened his smile for her and she beamed back, only now taking her first bite. He looked back at Sumire tearing through her small mountain and noticed that, despite giving the girl three to four times as much fruit as him or herself, Hanako had still only used the same amount of cream for them all. Not only was she a great cook, it seemed she was a fast learner outside the Metaverse too.

He, Morgana and Hanako ate their fills, then waited for Sumire to have hers. A few contented stretches later, the teens packed up and said their farewells, Morgana poking his head out of Ren's bag. Hanako waved them off from her doorstep as she'd done the day before, only going back inside once they'd passed from sight.

Ren in turn took Sumire to practice, where they were greeted by a frowning Hiraguchi.

"You were almost later again, Sumire."

"I - I'm so sorry, Coach!" She bowed. "Um...I slept in today and...and I got in a little later than I would have liked..."

Ren bit his lip. "Uh, that was my fault," he held out an arm in front of the apologising girl. Maybe they shouldn't have forced her to take a nap?

But Hiraguchi just waved her arm. "You can get up, Sumire. I said you were 'almost' late, you're fine."

"O - oh." She stood, cheeks wearing a faint hint of pink. "Um...thank you Coach. I'm ready to work hard today, if you'll have me!"

Hiraguchi rolled her eyes and Ren made out the slight spasms of a smile before she forced her face into its familiar stern look.

"Of course. Well, shall we get started?"

"Yes!" She got up from her second bow and leaned into Ren. "I'll prepare it Senpai," she whispered. "Please trust me." He smiled and nodded at her, spotting confusion flash across Hiraguchi's face from behind her shoulder.

He appreciated her not asking any questions as she led her student away.

He spent the rest of the day preparing how he could, which mostly meant buying medicine, crafting tools...and hiding or destroying the evidence. Hanako had offered to prepare snacks this time; that was a load off his back, at least.

* * *

_Tuesday, 8th May_

Just as he had yesterday, Ren picked Sumire up from his house after the last of his lectures. She was dressed to go out as before, but this time he caught her in the spare bedroom, trying to squeeze a pink envelope into her jacket without creasing it, Morgana at her feet. He called her name and she screamed, almost tripping over herself as she jumped back. It was only due to her innate grace that she stayed upright and could identify him, taking a deep breath once she realised who had called her.

"O - oh, Senpai! Y - y - you're back! How was school? I - I mean college?"

"...it was fine..." he raised an eyebrow and crouched, holding his bag open so Morgana could slip inside. He greeted the cat and the cat replied in turn as he stood back up. He pointed to the envelope just as Sumire got it into her pocket. "Is that the calling card?"

"Um...yes."

"Great! Can I see it?"

"Um...no."

She blushed. Ren blinked a few times but she just stood there, avoiding his gaze and letting her cheeks burn brighter and brighter. He felt a faint tapping on his shoulder and turned to feel Morgana press his whiskers against his ear.

"She didn't let me see it either," the cat whispered. "She's still a better pick for the job than Ryuji, but should we be worried?"

"Uh..." Ren met Sumire's nervous eyes with the corner of his own. "...how bad could it possibly be?" He stood up straight again and held out his hand to the apple of his eye. "Well, shall we?"

She beamed - whether she was happy at the gesture or because he'd dropped the subject he couldn't tell - and placed her fingers over his.

"Let's!"

* * *

A short walk later the four Thieves were assembled in Hanako's living room, where the older woman handed Ren a bag containing boxes of pre-chopped fruits and vegetables along with left-over snacks from the day before. He wondered if she had simply decided to prepare everything herself or if there was a deeper reason for her to stay indoors again, but chose not to question it. After all, she'd only had her heart changed two days ago: Futaba had made some grand gestures at first too, but she'd still needed help to stablize her new-found confidence. There was nothing wrong with that.

He thanked her for the rations and stashed them with his other supplies, then turned to Sumire. He called her name and she jumped. He gave her a second to compose herself, then continued.

"So, who are you going to give the calling card to?"

"Oh! Uh...um..."

Ren fought the urge to smile at the sight. Fortunately, Morgana piped up and spared him from maintaining his plain expression for long. "Actually Sumire, I know I asked you to try your idea first, but now that we're here - "

"You want to do your thing first? You really are noble, Mona."

"Not now, Ren!" Morgana cleared his throat. "Could you try giving the card to Hanako-san, please?"

"Me?" Hanako pointed to herself."

"Right," Morgana nodded. "We don't know much about this Palace, but it first appeared in yours, right? So I think there's a chance that you're ruling it subconsciously. It doesn't explain the Shadow person we saw in there, but it's all I can think of right now."

"I...see. Hmm..." Hanako frowned and looked down for a few seconds, but shook her expression clear before anyone could speak. "Well, I'm willing to try if you are, Sumire-chan. May I?" She held out her hand.

...Sumire took a half-step back and raised a hand to her mouth, cheeks on fire just like that. "A - already?! Ah...uh..." She swallowed and stood up straight again, putting a hand into her pocket and holding it open with the other. "Um...okay then...ngh!" she pulled the letter out with a soft grunt and handed it to her with trembling fingers. "Um...he - here you go..."

Hanako received the letter with a smile and turned the envelope over, slitting it open with her finger - wait, Sumire'd sealed it? Hanako pulled out the card within. Ren and Morgana exchanged horrified glances: the card was bright pink too. They turned back to see Hanako read it, her smile widening with each line until she looked up again.

"Oh, this is such a lovely letter, Sumire-chan! It has your fingerprints all over it!"

"Wha - what? I - it's... _lovely_? I - uh - !"

Sumire's stuttering cost her, as it meant Ren held out his hand before she could. Hanako gave it to him, either missing or ignoring Sumire's moan and half-hearted attempt to snatch it mid-transit. Morgana leaned in from his perch on his shoulder as Ren received the card, back first. It was thick cardboard with faint traces of glitter running across it; she'd probably gotten it from an arts and crafts store.

_Actually, I think I know exactly which one..._

A small shop in the town centre swam in front of his mind's eye as he turned the card around. She'd written the message herself, with incredible handwriting to boot:

_To whom it may concern,_

_We have seen the distortion in your heart and wish to save both you and a dear friend of ours from it, so we will be stealing your tortured desires very soon. Please wait for us. We promise to set both of you free. You don't need to suffer in silence anymore._

_With warmest regards,_

_The Phantom Thieves of Hearts._

She'd even doodled a gymnastics baton right next to the signature, with its ribbon forming a border along the edge of the card. Ren and Morgana were silent for a full minute before the latter spoke - and even that came after a long sigh.

"Uh...I know I said we didn't have to worry too much about being anonymous, but that just meant there was no pressure if you got it a little wrong! You were still supposed to try! You know being anonymous is why we use newspaper cutouts, right? Plus, you're being way too polite! A - and that little sketch of yours? That makes it _way_ too obvious who you are! Imagine if this went public, you're the only kind-hearted gymnast in this town! And all anyone wouldd need is your signature from that sports meet of yours to prove it!"

Sumire clapped her mouth shut and bowed. "Oh no, I'm so sorry, Morgana-senpai! I thought it'd be okay to make it more personal after what you said yesterday, but I didn't realise you wanted it to be a test! I - I..." she looked up, eyes strained. "I'm such a disgrace to the Phantom Thieves' name!" She bowed again. Morgana recoiled. He sagged on the spot and glanced at Ren before opening his mouth again.

"Uh...h - hey, don't be sad! I - it's really good for a first attempt! It's really pretty too, and your handwriting is so neat! I don't think even Haru or Makoto's writing is as neat as yours! Ren!" He hissed the last word to his partner. "I messed up big time! Say something!"

Ren tried not to laugh, thankful that Sumire wasn't looking as he struggled to get his stomach under control enough to join in the conversation. "Morgana's right about that last part: this really is great for a first attempt and it's fine that you wanted it to be polite. Besides, this is much better than Ryuji cursing Kamoshida out with _his_ first calling card." He could resist smiling at the memory. "So relax! It's all good. Don't you agree, Hanako-san?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Like him, she too tried not to laugh as she placed a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "In fact, could you make me one like this too, Sumire-chan? I'd love to keep it as a souvenir once this is all done!"

Sumire whined as she straightened up to look at her. "But...but that's the exact opposite of how you should feel about a calling card! Right?" She turned to the more experienced Thieves. Ren nodded.

"Yep. Actually, Futaba kept hers too."

"Really, Senpai?"

"Y - yeah, that's right!" Ren winced at the volume of Morgana's sudden outburst, but kept quiet: it was obvious where his sudden enthusiasm was coming from. "So don't feel bad about it. I stand by what I said before: it's healthy for the Phantom Thief organization to have more members who can make cards than just Yusuke! A - and...I think there's a lot of potential here too! If we workshop this one, I think we could have a really nice alternate style for whenever we want to act but can't use our original style of card for whatever reason!"

 _That's pushing it a bit_ , Ren thought to himself. Sumire looked from one boy to the other with a cloudy expression. Ren wondered if she was thinking the same thing. Whether she was or not though, she eventually smiled, though she still sniffed a little.

"O - okay..."

Ren smiled back.

"...that aside," said Morgana, turning to the other woman in the room. "Do you feel any different after seeing the card, Hanako-san? I don't know, do you feel more tense or anything?"

"Hmm...not really. To be honest, I'm still trying to get over how sweet it was. Oh! I - I mean..!" she turned, but Sumire was already hiding her face again with a low moan. Hanako scratched her cheek with an embarrassed smile and fell silent.

"I see..." Morgana frowned and turned to Ren. "You don't feel anything either, do you Ren?"

He shook his head. Usually whenever someone received a calling card, those near them who were familiar with the Metaverse would get a glimpse of their Shadow's rage. Perhaps it was because they were in tune with their own Shadows? Regardless, the only exception to this rule was Dr. Maruki, because he didn't _have_ a Shadow. But even then, Ren had felt a sense of pressure emanating from him as the calling card took effect. Here, he'd felt nothing.

Ren turned to Sumire, but she too shook her head. Morgana sighed.

"Well, I guess it's not your Palace after all then," he said. "It looks like your idea's up next then, Sumire." Ren handed the card back to her. Hanako in turn returned the envelope. Sumire put the card back in its protective sleeve and tucked it into her pocket, safe and sound.

"Thank you, everyone." She nodded to each of them in turn. "Um...but if my hunch is right, I think the Ruler will be waiting for us in the Palace."

"Huh?" Morgana tilted his head. Ren frowned, but an idea flashed into his head of who she might have had in mind.

But surely not?

"Please trust me," Sumire said again to Thieves' mentor. "I was thinking this over overnight too and...and I'm _sure_ this'll work!"

Ren and Morgana exchanged glances, then nodded at her in unison.

"If you're sure, then there's nothing we have left to say, Sumire." Ren smiled. She smiled back, her lips stretching so far up her cheeks he was tempted to reach out and cup them.

Morgana coughed and he snapped back to attention.

_Focus!_

He shook his head, taking his phone out of his pocket at the same time. "Uh...so that's that then, shall we - "

"Ooh, if Sumire-chan's in charge, shouldn't she be the one to press the button?"

"I - in charge?!" Sumire stepped back again. "I - I can't be in charge!"

"Good idea!" Ren tucked his phone away with a smile. "You wanna do the honors, Violet?"

"B - b - but!"

"Don't think too hard about it," offered Morgana. "Just take us to the Metaverse. You know we'll be here to back you up if anything goes wrong, right?"

"R - right..."

Sumire took in the three smiling faces before her before she steadied her breath and smiled back at them. She took out her phone and opened the bookmarks page. She poised her delicate thumb over the screen and was about to touch down when -

Hanako yelped.

"Oh, I forgot my naginata! Gimme a sec!"

She ran to the wall, grabbed her long spear and ran back to the small circle Ren just realised they'd formed without noticing as he and Morgana chuckled and Sumire failed to hold back a laugh. Hanako knocked the side of her head and poked her tongue out by means of apology, then prompted Sumire to use the app again. The gymnast did so, tapping the still censored entry on her phone. The world distorted around them, the waves of black and red light fading in time to reveal the moonlit Palace once more.

* * *

They were back on the staircase leading to the marble entrance to the tower, mere feet from the abyss.

"We fly up now, right?" asked Hanako.

Sumire nodded. "Yes. If I'm correct, that is."

"Alright then!" Morgana grimaced. "...oh, I hope this works..."

Before anyone could question him, he leapt into the air and transformed. The Mona Copter burst into existence before them, an open door inviting them as it lowered, dipping slightly below the final step. The entire vehicle shuddered as Morgana let out a rasping gasp. "I - It worked, right? I'm not dissolving, am I? If I am I'm totally blaming you, Melody! I - "

"What the... Mona - Mona, relax!" Ren cut him off, hands gesturing to him as if he were a wild animal. "You look fine from here. Why, do you feel weird?"

"...actually, no. I still feel okay. Huh. I guess I was worried about nothing. Sorry about that, everyone."

Ren snorted. "Then we're good." He turned to one side and motioned for the two girls to enter the helicopter before closing the door shut behind him.

"Um...why did you say you would blame me, Mona?" Ren heard Hanako ask.

"O - oh, for...for saying I could try transforming in midair yesterday. Sorry..."

"Oh. That's okay. I'm glad the idea helped though!"

"Yeah...it did, didn't it?"

Ren fought back a smile as he sat down. "Now that that's been cleared up..."

Oh, oh right! Forgive my tardiness, Thieves! I should have known better than to - "

"Mona, it's fine. Just fly!"

"...right!"

The helicopter rose, giving its passengers a vertical panoramic view of the demented tower. Ren noticed Sumire's eyes locked on the structure and he turned on the spot to join her silent vigil. If she was right and the tower's Ruler was waiting for them at its peak...then this would be their last time looking at it, for better or for worse.

No.

It wouldn't do to think about negatives at this point. It's true they had no idea what to expect from this place...but that was all the more reason to keep his brave face on, right? He shook his head and spent the rest of the flight handing out small pouches of supplies to the others, placing Morgana's in a small compartment just inside the right-hand door.

_Oh, right. I wonder if that litter is still here..._

* * *

Morgana reached the peak of the tower and hovered over the pillars. Due to checking his equipment Ren didn't understand why the cat-turned-helicopter wasn't moving horizontally until he looked outside his window to see the Shadow standing in the middle of the marble tiling again.

"Wait. You don't think she's been here this whole time, do you?" he muttered. Sumire, who already looked worried at the sight of the girl, gasped at the thought and slid the door open, holding a handrail with all her might at the sudden blast of wind that rushed inside. She tried to shout to the strange figure, but whether it was because of the distance or the wind - or simply because the girl was ignoring her again - her words had no effect. She bit her lip as the winds died down. Ren felt his ears pop with the change in pressure, but before he could act Hanako let out a fake sigh and nudged him to one side, shouting a "Look out below!" before jumping out of the helicopter, a hand holding her black skirt in place as she fell.

Ren and Sumire exchanged shocked glances, looking back in time to see Hanako land with a crouch and wave at them with a familiar grin on her face visible even from this height. The teens exchanged another pair of surprised looks.

"Well, it's only a few metres, right? We've done far riskier stuff than this."

"...that's true..."

Ren and Sumire nodded to each other, then slid out of the helicopter after their older comrade-in-arms, hearing Morgana pop back into cat form behind them. They landed in similar crouches and heard Morgana land between them a second later, the trio joining Hanako in looking around.

"So?" asked Morgana. "Where's the Ruler, Violet?"

"Um..." she dug into the pocket of her new jacket and pulled out the envelope, much easier than she had with her original clothes. She slipped the card out of the paper and hugged it to her chest. She took a deep breath. "If I'm right..."

She walked up to the Shadow.

And bowed.

Morgana folded his arms, but Ren waved one of his own to shush him before he could let out more than a confused "Huh?" The cat looked up at his leader and saw Ren devoting his full attention to the still bowing Sumire. Morgana followed suit just as Sumire built up the courage to speak.

"I..." she began, still bowing to the silhouette. "Uh...excuse me, Shadow-san!"

Until now the Shadow had simply been looking skyward, but now her head tilted ever so slightly in Sumire's direction. If the Shadow had visible eyes, Ren figured she'd be looking at Sumire from the corner of one of them; the majority of her attention was clearly still laser-focused on the white orb above them.

"I...um...I - I want to give you this!" Sumire held out the calling card with both hands, raising her head just enough to see the Shadow's.

There was a pause.

With a deliberate pace, the Shadow took the card from her and read it.

"I..." Sumire stood up straight, though the Shadow's gaze was still locked to the small sheet in her hands. "I wrote everything on the card, but we really want to help you. I'm sorry for saying this - I don't know if it'll make you feel uncomfortable or not - but everything here feels so...so _sad_. I - I really hope stealing this Treasure goes a long way towards making you feel better! I'm sorry, I know it's easier said than done, but - "

She fell silent as the Shadow raised her head and - for the first time that day - looked her in the eye.

A searing white light burst into existence above them.

Sumire and the Thieves looked up, squinting through their fingertips as an orb of light descended from the sky. Above it, they could see the moon. Full, magnificent, so large it felt like they could reach out and touch it and white for the first time since the tower had appeared.

"Woah..." muttered Morgana at last as the three other Thieves walked over to Sumire. The girl turned at the sound of their footsteps and met them halfway, a hand over her eyes and a wide smile on her lips. "Did you actually just give a calling card to a Shadow? And did it actually _work_?"

"Um...yes?" She smiled at the cat, then turned back to the Shadow who had returned to looking at the sky even as the Treasure drew closer and closer and blotted it out with its own luster, calling card hanging from one of her hands. "She's a Shadow, but she's still a part of whoever our target is, right? So isn't giving her a calling card the same as giving one to her counterpart in the real world?"

"I...I didn't think that was possible..."

"It would have saved a lot of time with some of our heists," Ren smiled. "Well done, Violet." He gave her a series of gentle pats on the back. "This is the second time your fresh perspective has come through for us."

"Thank you, Senpai!" Sumire inclined her head towards him and beamed, but her eyes were still locked on the Shadow. The Treasure's light was dimming, yet the Shadow was still a solid black. Morgana hissed.

"I...I just never thought of it, okay? Besides, if all we had to do was change a Shadow's cognition to change a Palace, then why - "

"The Treasure's here!"

Even Sumire looked up at Hanako's shout. The shining orb had stopped at chest height. Now that the light had dimmed, Ren noticed it had shrunk to the size of one of their heads during its descent. But just as the thought registered, it flared up again. He shielded his eyes and heard the others yelp around him. He turned away but the insides of his eyelids still burned bright orange for several seconds before the glare died down for a second time. He opened them just in time to see something white and thin drop to the floor, spinning in a loose circle for a few seconds like a fallen coin as the last flickers of light disappeared as it fell flat at the Shadow's feet, exposed to them for the first time.

"A...mask, huh?" Ren muttered. "I guess we should have seen that coming."

But unlike the plain masks worn by the Shadows in this Palace and those in the island Palace, this one resembled a European theatre mask, specifically a Comedy one. It was plain white and molded in the outline of a face, with the only markings being two eye holes and a small smile that had been carved out of it.

For a few seconds, everyone simply looked at it. The mask looked up at the moon, its mouth parted in a permanent half-gesture.

Then the Shadow bent down, her movements still slow, and picked it up. She turned the mask over in her hands as she stood up and held it in front of her face, like a curious child picking something up at a souvenir shop.

Another second passed.

Then Morgana gasped.

"Oh no, someone _stop her!_ "

But in the time it took for the other Thieves to look at him and back, the Shadow had placed the mask on her face.

For yet another second, there was silence.

Then the air around the girl exploded. The Thieves crossed their arms over their faces as the ensuing gales of wind blasted them back, their feet skidding against the floor. Hanako stopped first, crouching against the wind enough to regain her footing. She moved behind Sumire to stop her, who in turn grabbed Ren's arm. Morgana grabbed his shin. The Thieves stood tall as the wind died down, but a second wave of power pulsed out of the Shadow. Instead of hitting them directly, this wave swirled around them, gathering a perfect ring of black clouds around the tower as the moon once again took on its green hue, coating them all in that familiar, sickly glow as they felt the might of the storm spinning around them.

The Thieves braced themselves against the wind blowing them to the side as black smoke billowed out from beneath the girl's feet. Sumire yelled and reached out to her, but the smoke shot into the air, now an ever-growing, ever-spiralling pillar.

"G - guys!" shouted Morgana against the raw energy buffeting them from every direction. "This is bad! Th - this thing's power level just shot through the roof!"

"Everyone, get ready!" Ren took out his knife and grit his teeth. The other Thieves brandished their weapons in turn. The stood firm against the winds yet again until one more shockwave burst out from the centre of the roof. The shockwave tore through both the black pillar and the pressure surrounding them, giving them a moment of silence as they saw the Shadow once again.

Her short ponytail had come undone, loose strands of hair now hanging over the theatre mask now covering her face. She wore a floor-length gown made up of black feathers beneath a grey corset that shimmered in the moonlight like metal, with matching elbow length gloves. For a fleeting moment, Ren imagined Sumire in such a dress. How utterly _gorgeous_ would she be..?

He shook his head as the Shadow touched her mask. A blue haze covered her face for a moment before the sound of shattering glass filled the empty space between them. The haze disappeared. The mask still covered her silhouetted features, but a second, much larger mass of blue flames now exploded into existence behind her. The flames grew taller, taller, taller..

Ren felt his breath freeze in his chest as the fire coalesced into a new form. He tried to step toward it, but a second wave of pressure forced him back in line with the rest of his team.

First came the feet: long white cylinders with curved 'hooves' for feet. They reminded him of Orpheus', only instead of simple pieces of metal for thighs, this new figure's artificial legs included knee joints, with its thighs covered with simple pale golden fabric. Next came a white belt that billowed downward, with two large wing-like protrusions on either side of its legs, and a buckle resembling two interlocked hands. The back of the belt grew upward, starting at a wide diamond and rising higher, higher, higher... Ren heard Sumire gasp as the tip of the diamond appeared.

The diamond was so stretched out, so sharp...it was clear that it was in fact a sword, taller than both Ren and Sumire combined.

A torso came next, made of the same gold material as its thighs with a grey, metal ring around its waist and chest. From this sprouted two arms, with solid shoulders and hands and soft limbs connecting the two. The right hand was free, but a simple chain formed out of the ether and wrapped itself around its left arm, from the elbow down. The chain fell to its feet and, in a second flash, formed four, flat coffins, each bearing the figure of a saint standing above a long leaf. Each coffin hung from the chain, held tight to it directly behind each saint's head. A cloth appeared where the being's collarbone would be and expanded upward, forming a neck.

Finally, a face appeared, forcing its way through the small scarf like a hand through a sleeve. It appeared mechanical, as if three metal sheets had been fused together to make it. The boundaries between them were still visible, each running beneath one of its burning red, angular eyes. Though they had no pupils, the Thieves felt those same eyes look over each and every one of them, shuddering in turn as a long flowing mane of golden hair fell down the sides of its head.

The sapphire flames faded and Ren felt the aura preventing him from moving closer went with them, but even without Morgana's earlier warning, Ren could still feel the raw power radiating from the pair of figures standing before them.

The entire sequence of events had taken place in a matter of seconds, less than a minute, yet it felt like eons had passed. Ren spoke first - if you could call it that.

"H - how..." he spluttered. "How can a Shadow have a Persona?"

"I...I don't know!" He could hear Morgana's teeth chattering. "Maybe this is another Maruki situation! That thing we thought was the Shadow may have been the Ruler this whole time!"

"But..! W - why would she want to fight us?" Ren turned at the high pitch of Sumire's voice and was shocked to see tears in her eyes.

"Su - Violet..."

She didn't hear him, instead looking from one to the other as a few stray drops of water trailed paths under her mask. "I was so sure she wanted us to help her!"

He put a hand on her shoulder. She jumped at the sudden contact, but then her breathing drew steady. He could feel the touch having the same effect on him.

"We'll get to the bottom of this," he murmured to her, trying to keep his voice even. "I think you're right that she needs help, Violet. It just so happens that we need to come to an understanding with her first. Are you ready?"

"Senpai..." She raised her mask to rub her tears away. She lowered it once her face was dry at looked at him, fresh fires burning in her eyes instead. "Yes!" She turned to the Shadow and pointed her rapier at her. "I'm sorry about this whoever you are, but I'm going to do whatever it takes to save both you and my friend!" She crouched slightly, ready for battle. The others followed her lead, though Hanako spared a quick smile for the back of Sumire's head before she did so. She adjusted her grip on her naginata and slashed the air with it.

"I'm not sure what's going on," she grinned and tensed herself in preparation for battle again. "but I hope you're ready, Ms. Shadow-or-whatever-you-are." She jabbed the forefinger of her off-hand at their new foe. "'Cause we're gonna take your heart!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came out _much_ later than normal, huh? I did a bit of research between the last chapter and this one (i.e. I read a bunch of stories, including the entirety Akane Minori's [Life Will Change](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24846847/chapters/60106123)) and wanted to include some of the things I'd learned in this one. The result?
> 
> Well, the original draft of this chapter was 4051 words. Now it's 8348 words.
> 
> And thus what should have been an average-length chapter became the longest by far. I'm glad for the change, but I definitely need to manage my time better going forward :P
> 
> Please let me know what you think of the chapter, about the new style and content both: I'm always seeking to improve! 
> 
> Thank you so much for all your support, everyone!


	24. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay! I just wanted to take a few days to really hammer out this next chunk of the story to make it as good as it could be (and also to bring it in line with the style of the previous chapter). Thank you for your patience and your continuous support!

The Shadowy girl raised a gloved hand above her, then rolled all digits save her forefinger into a fist. Light purple energy exploded into existence around her Persona, spiralling over and into its skin as it too raised its finger to the sky, a perfect recreation of the former's motion. As soon as its finger reached the zenith of its arc, a massive orb of black and white energy burst into being inches above it. The orb lingered for a split second before exploding into countless streams of two-toned light that filled the air between it and the Thieves, crisscrossing over each other as they swam towards them.

"Scatter!" Ren yelled.

The quartet ran in different directions but the beams of light curved through the air after them. Each Thief ducked, jumped and rolled under and over the numerous attacks, but sheer numbers overcame them. Ren felt a beam crash into his back just as he rose from a slide. He staggered forward and two more crashed into his right, sending him flying. He crashed into the ground with a loud grunt and looked up to see Morgana and Sumire already struggling to their feet. Hanako was the next to fall, a beam of light catching her in the chest and throwing her back. She rolled past the more experienced Thieves but landed in a crouch, jumping to her feet and shooting herself in the head. Orpheus appeared - lyre already drawn - and played a familiar muted tune, healing their wounds and filling them with energy. Ren got up and clenched his fist as the new strength settled into his bones, but when he looked up the Shadow touched her mask again.

Just like that, he felt his body quake. He bent down, clutching his stomach as he gasped for breath. He felt so... _hollow_.

"But...but our wounds are still healed!" He turned at the sound of Morgana's voice. The others wore the same shocked expressions he knew he was. With a single motion the power Orpheus had given them had been stripped away.

He held his face. Arsene appeared behind him and formed a head-sized black orb an inch from his palm, firing it towards the enemy Shadow as a beam of cursed energy. Both Persona and Shadow stood still, but the latter's dress came to life instead, rustling as feathers from her wide skirt peeled away to form six wings, as beautiful as a swan's. Six wings, humungous but of the same color and shape as hers, sprouted in a circle behind the Persona and folded around it, then flapped outward as one, deflecting the attack into the sky; the gust from the movement snuffing out the source of the strike. Ren grit his teeth.

"Attack the Shadow!"

"S - Senpai?!" He couldn't bring himself to look at her.

"Got it!" shouted Morgana from behind him and sent a huge blast of Wind towards their masked foe.

But she didn't even flinch, simply letting the attack wash over her as though it were a gentle summer breeze.

"What the..?" Ren saw Morgana turn to him from the corner of his eye. The cat opened and closed his mouth again, but this time no sound came out.

Morgana didn't get any other chances to finish the sentence. The Persona raised a hand again, this time summoning a swarm of shining rocks that hovered in the air for an instant before being hurled at them. Ren called Rangda and cast a protective barrier around Hanako, then sent his Persona to shield Morgana as he covered Sumire, holding her tight in his arms as he turned his back to the hail. He heard Sumire scream as the attack made contact with him but the rocks bounced off his jacket: though the impacts still stung, the Magician's innate immunity to the Skill protected him. He let Sumire go once the sound of the sudden avalanche faded and looked around. His plan had worked: all three of his allies were safe. He clenched his fist and allowed a small smile onto his lips.

_Yes! We can do this!_

He switched to Fafnir and called for two Nuclear explosions, one beneath each of their foes. The Persona bobbed in the air slightly as the attack made contact, but as with Morgana's before the Shadow saw the bright blue light blooming beneath her and did nothing. She stood still even as the blast consumed her, the ends of her hair fluttering ever so gently being the only indication she'd even been hit by it.

"I guess she really is immune," he thought aloud. He pretended not to hear Sumire's sigh of relief beside him before she ran into the fray, hand on her mask to call Ella. The Princess appeared and turned her bouquet into an ball of Blessed energy before throwing it at the Persona. The Persona merely caught the orb and threw it back. Ella spun on the spot with her leg raised, kicking the attack off the roof. It exploded in a flash of white light, dispersing the nearby clouds. A new bouquet formed in Ella's hand as she disappeared. Ren saw wisps of black vapor begin to fill in the hole she'd left behind in the sky, blotting out their surroundings once again.

_So. The Persona is immune to Bless attacks and probably resists Nuclear ones. Okay, we're learning.  
_

Ren watched Hanako and Morgana launch waves of Fire and Wind at the Persona. It braced, reacting with no more than a shiver from each, but at least that was two more Elements he could add to his mental checklist. _  
_

The Shadow raised her finger again, this time coating her Persona with a faint red aura. It fired a second, but smaller, blast of Almighty energy. This too broke into multiple branching streams.

"Everyone, hold out as best you can!" Ren braced and saw the others do the same. They each skidded back as more and more beams hit them, eventually overpowering and sending them into the air. They rolled into four separate heaps on the floor and Ren yelled out Morgana's name as the lights faded, the cat jumping to his feet and healing them. Ren rose next, clutching his mask. "Thor!"

The tall god of thunder appeared behind him and summoned a giant golden gauntlet above their heads, then fired it at their foe. The fist crashed into the Persona, sending it skidding back through the air, scraping a foot against the marble floor as it tried to slow itself.

"Yes!" shouted Sumire "It felt that one!" She sent Ella to follow up the attack with her signature move. She flew in, spinning once she was mere metres away to increase the power of her kick.

But the Shadow spread her wings. More wings enveloped the Persona just as Ella's attacks landed, each impact leaving a glowing white gash in the air. The wings threw the attacks back with one unified motion, fading as the two giant waves raced towards Sumire. Ren broke into a sprint and dived, tackling Sumire to the ground. The waves sliced through the air in a crooked cross-shape where her torso had been as the teens rolled across the floor. Ren let go of her a few seconds later and the two sprung to their feet in unison.

"We need to stop her protecting it," he yelled to the others. "But we can't hit her!"

"We just need to keep trying, Senpai!"

"Right!" He clutched his mask and roared. "Arsene!" The pillager of twilight attacked once again with a beam of Curse energy and again the Shadow spread her wings, deflecting it. He spun away and felt the air behind him shake as repelled attack flew past but just pointed at the Persona. "Now!" he yelled. "Hurry, get it quick!"

A gunshot answered him before he'd even finished speaking and sent Orpheus shooting towards the Persona as the wings protecting it faded away, lyre at the ready. Four golden fists appeared around them as she drew close, extending towards their foe from all directions just as Orpheus swung her lyre. All five attacks made contact as one, sending the Persona reeling. It staggered away, but froze mid-fall, righting itself and floating back to its original position. The Shadow raised her finger yet again and coated it in purple energy once more, the Persona using that energy to form another massive orb of Almighty energy. This time there was no delay in its attack: as soon as the orb coalesced it exploded into a waterfall of light that billowed out, turning Diego and Orpheus to ash in an instant. Ren and Sumire were far enough away to avoid the wrath of the counterattack, but Morgana and Hanako received twice the blows as if to mock former's escape, sending them into the air.

"No!"

Ren didn't know which of the two had yelled. Hanako flipped onto her feet as soon as she landed and shot herself, healing all four of them and filling them with additional strength, but with another simple tap of the face the Shadow robbed them of the latter. Gritting his teeth through the sickening feeling, Ren saw a flash of lightning where the Shadow stood as she touched her mask again.

The Persona hurled the same at the still struggling pair. Ren tried to shout, but before he could even form the words Hanako and Morgana were blasted away again, rolling to a halt on the fronts, bodies singed. He cursed and ran to them, Sumire at his side, switching to Maria and healing them. They pushed themselves to their hands and knees and smiled at him, at which point he switched to Thor and fired another golden fist. It collided with the Persona's gut and sent it floating back a foot, but it simply floated back into place once more.

The Shadow touched her mask again and this time Ren saw a flash of darkness.

"Violet!"

Sumire glanced at him and immediately understood, jumping back as a beam of Cursed energy passed through the spot where her head had just been. Nodding to himself at the sight of her escape he switched to Shiva, using the Hindu diety to assail their foe with a barrage of Psychic energy. The Persona took the hit head on with nothing but a slight tremble. The Shadow touched her mask again. This time she surrounded the Thieves with light instead, this one red. Ren felt his strength leaving him as he watched Hanako and Morgana launch another joint barrage of Fire and Wind attacks, the Persona shrugging them off with only another small shudder to show for the efforts.

 _Okay,_ he thought to himself. _It's resisted all the Magic attacks we've tried so far but doesn't seem to have any resistances to Physical moves..._

He called on Arsene and used his natural element again, but the Shadow blocked it without missing a beat. Ren sidestepped the reflected blast, mind racing. Whether she blocked other attacks or not seemed to be entirely up to chance - if anything it felt like the Shadow only did so out of obligation - but was he imagining things or did she always block Cursed ones?

As he processed his thoughts, Sumire summoned two giant swords above the Persona that tore into it. It spun to the side with the force of the blows before turning back to face the Thieves head on. Ren attacked with Arsene, but once again the Shadow blocked his attack. This time the counterattack crashing into Arsene's torso, dispelling him at once, but Ren was too shocked to react to the dull throbbing it created in the back of his head.

"I knew it..." he muttered before shouting to the others. "I knew it! It's weak to Curse skills! Everyone, try to distract the Shadow! As soon as she uses a Skill, I'll use Arsene!"

"Got it!" Hanako gave him a quick wink and thumbs up.

"Great going, Joker!"

"You can count on us, Senpai!"

Morgana healed the team as Orpheus flew in, lyre at the ready. She swung the instrument single-handedly and the Persona blocked with its left arm, still keeping a tight grip on its chains, but Orpheus punched its face with her off-hand. She kicked off just as Sumire surrounded the heavenly looking Persona with thin ethereal blades that slashed down, digging into its artificial flesh once more, forcing it down as they tore their way back out of it. It rose to its original height and the Persona imbued it with darkness. It fired a beam of Curse energy at Sumire, but Ren shoved her aside, taking the full brunt of the attack himself, hissing as he crossed his arms before his face.

"Senpai?!"

"I - it's okay!" He grunted. "It...it isn't doing...much!" He gasped out the last word as the attack ceased, flashing Sumire a sweaty smile. The Shadow raised her hand again and filled the Shadow with bright purple energy once more. The Persona raised its hand to summon another gigantic orb of Almighty energy, but Ren just smirked.

_Now's my chance!_

"Arsene!"

The gentleman thief fired a blast of Curse energy at the Persona but their foe simply fired its own attack first, the two-toned blast completely blotting out Arsene's attempt, dissolving Arsene himself before even making contact...and consuming Ren.

Through the ear-rending rush of energy surrounding him he could make out Sumire screaming his name as he was thrown up into the air. For a moment it felt like he was suspended in the sky...and then he crashed down flat on his back, bouncing back like a stone skimmed across a lake a few feet before coming to a halt, hissing as his body erupted in pain.

"Senpai!"

He heard Sumire run up to him and the faint _woosh_ of a Persona forming. The agony of his limbs disappeared alongside the black spots in his vision, his eyes refocusing just in time to see Ella end the healing spell she'd cast upon him, fading away with what he could have sworn was a worried smile. Sumire obscured his sight next, hand outstretched.

"I...I'm fine..." He accepted her hand and let her pull him to his feet, shaking his head once he was back up. "Thank you. Okay," he muttered to her "I'm not sure if this is going to work, but..." he turned to the team at large. "Sorry about that!" He yelled. "It's not just the Shadow; we need to catch the Persona off-guard too! Everyone, keep piling pressure on it! I'll attack as soon as I get an opening, don't let up!"

The Persona raised its hand, preparing another volley of small meteorites. Even so, his teammates stood strong, their own Personas by their sides.

"We're with you, Senpai!"

"Okay, Joker!"

"Let's do this!"

Ren could only look at their turned backs, mouth open.

_They...they still trust me after all that?_

He shook his head: this was no time to be getting sentimental. The Persona dropped the rocks in a continuous hail. He only had time to cast a barrier around Morgana with Rangda before the trio ran into the fray. Sumire slid beneath a small cluster of rocks as Ella launched two fierce kicks at their foe, a bag of the items he'd crafted in her hand. Morgana sent another small hurricane towards the white Shadow, protected by Ren's earlier spell. Hanako let loose a wave of flame to obliterate the rocks directly in front of her, sending a second wave towards the one who'd sent them.

_Those guys..._

The Shadow channeled Electricity through her Persona next. Ren put a barrier around Hanako and sent Thor to shield Morgana, wincing as he turned to Sumire, too far away for him to reach her in time.

"Violet, I'm sorry! Look out!"

"It's fine!" She dodged, jumping and ducking this way and that with that grace of hers he'd always admired, but eventually collapsed from a stray bolt colliding with her shoulder. Other bolts struck her as she fell like hyenas jumping on wounded prey and he cursed, running up to her as soon as the attack ended with Maria by his side, healing her. She got to her feet as he drew near.

"I'm so sorry," he muttered. She just gave him a radiant smile he felt too guilty to return, so he flashed her a small grin instead. "Please hang in there, guys!" he shouted to all three of them. They resumed their assault, the back and forth volley of attacks continuing until the Persona fired a beam of Curse energy at Sumire. She spun out of the way and sent Ella to counterattack, the Princess spinning in the air once more before lashing out with her leg. The Shadow in turn enveloped the Persona with her giant wings.

"Violet!" he shouted. "Watch out!"

"Right!"

Two shockwaves shot towards her, one after the other. She ducked under the first, a horizontal cut through the air, only to be hit head-on by the second, vertical slash. She rolled back and jumped onto her feet, still winded with an eye shut from the pain. Ren wanted to heal her right away, but with both the Shadow and Persona having just used an ability each...

" _Arsene!_ " Ren roared once more as he tore off his mask. His other self formed a black orb between his palms and fired an ever-expanding, spiralling beam of energy towards the Persona. The attack struck true, barreling into the angelic figure's torso. The Persona touched the floor and took several steps back, trying to withstand the attack until the beam exploded outward. It took a few more, wobbling steps back.

And fell to one knee.

"Yes!" he cheered, hearing the others do the same. "Everyone, use your Physical skills!"

They did just that. Suddenly the space surrounding the Shadow was filled with shining kicks from Sumire, golden punches from Morgana, bashes of a lyre from Hanako and even more spiralling kicks from Arsene, his legs glowing with faint light in the shape of blades. The Shadow tried to repel their blows as best she could with her wings, but there was only so much she could do to shield a Persona that couldn't defend itself. In time though, the latter recovered with a rumbling of the tower beneath them. The four Personas retreated and the Thieves jumped back in turn as the white being rose to its feet and took to the air once more. It was still silent, its eyes still the same shape and color as before, yet they could each sense the searing rage emanating from those red slits in its face.

The Shadow raised her finger again. This time the Persona turned pitch black, just as she was beneath her new outfit.

"What now?!" asked Morgana. The air grew thick around them as if in response.

The Persona raised its own finger. Another orb of energy, far bigger than any they'd seen before appeared above it, blazing a fierce red and black. The air grew thicker still. Ren could feel his lungs betraying him.

"Everyone...brace!" He choked out.

They did so, Hanako healing them first with a quick "Wait!" and filling them with energy.

"Thanks!" he shouted. Still tensing himself, he summoned Fafnir and sent it towards the orb, having it charge a Nuclear strike within its robotic arms as it went.

"Senpai, no!"

Sumire ran towards him with her arm outstretched, but the orb exploded outward, blotting out the sky with a seemingly endless wave of fiery Almighty energy that cascaded down on them. Fafnir stood no chance, annihilated by the mere presence of the attack. The energy smashed into the marble tiling and spilled outward, crashing into the four Thieves and sending them flying. Ren felt his spine slam against one of the pillars and fell a metre to the ground. He opened his eyes in time to see Sumire tumbling past him, just managing to reach out and grab her wrist before she flew over the edge. Head spinning, he looked there and was _just_ able to make out Morgana pull himself back up from it. Further ahead, Hanako's blurry figure was already dragging herself to her feet, using the pillar she'd no doubt hit for support. She shot herself to heal them, the Shadow immediately robbing them of the increased strength granted by Orpheus' Skill.

Ren's eyes continued rolling in his head, eventually landing on the raven staue directly above him and the feathers forever peeling away from it.

_Those feathers..._

_They...they look just like the feathers on that Shadow's dress..._

_Wait, no...what am I doing?_

He shook his head, he and Sumire helping each other to their feet as Morgana stood up beside them. "We...we can still do this..." he forced out, still seeing double of everything. "Everyone! The same...the same tactic as before!" He stood firm and made out Sumire's smiling face as a pair of cheers reached him from Morgana and Hanako. The trio threw themselves back into the fray. Waves of Fire and Wind rained down on the Persona - now white again - once more. It shrugged them off. Sumire swung two etheral swords down, aiming for its shoulders. It caught both, but slid back from the effort. Ren clutched the pillar, shaking his head through the rising urge to vomit. He kept shaking until her threw off his dizzied state, then ran to join the others.

"Keep pushing!" He screamed. Arsene appeared beside him for a moment before launching himself at the enemy Persona, spinning as he flew and landing a kick to its chin with his bladed heels. The Persona's head reeled back, but it retaliated with a fistful of Blessed energy. Ren swapped Arsene for Vohu Manah at the last second, the Councillor Persona nullifying the magic but being thrown back by the larger spirit's hand, then switched again to Fafnir, launching a colossal Nuclear blast beneath its feet. The Persona shuddered and Orpheus flew in from behind the dragon, bashing its head to one side with her lyre.

The Shadow raised her finger, turning the Persona black again.

"Now!" Arsene answered Ren's call, launching a second pillar of Cursed energy from his hands. The Persona skidded back, trying to halt its momentum by dragging against the floor with its foot as it had before, its black coating peeling away like dried paint as it went. It stopped and tried to stand, but again fell on one knee. Arsene followed with another spinning kick, the attack a wordless trigger that launched a second barrage of Physical Skills from the other Thieves. The attacks - be they physical projections like Morgana's fists, ethereal like Ren and Sumire's kicks and blades or mundane like Hanako's lyre - battered the Persona further and further back, knocking it back down each time it tried to stand. They got it to the very edge of the roof, its back foot scraping closer and closer to the edge of one of the three stairwells leading back into the tower, before it managed to rise accompanied by a familiar rumbling of the ground beneath them. Their own Personas backed off, still poised for battle. The white figure managed to stand for a moment but sagged as it floated back into the air, covered head to artificial toe in deep cuts and dents covering its metallic body.

"We're almost there!" shouted Ren.

But before the words had even left his mouth, the Persona raised its arm and bathed itself in pale blue light.

"No!" Ren saw Morgana's stubby legs tremble as his eyes widened. Ren felt his breath catch in his throat once more as he saw the Persona's scars fade, bit by bit, and yelled. Arsene answered his unspoken call, firing a short blast of Cursed energy at the larger being, but the Shadow simply spread her wings, enveloping it once again and throwing the attack back at him. He ducked out of the way and looked back, clutching his head as the wings faded into the ether.

Revealing a Persona in perfect health once more, its eyes shining bright against the night sky.


	25. Chapter 24

Wind and Fire sailed through the skies alongside ethereal blades as the Thieves carried out Ren's plan yet again. He tried his best to keep everyone safe, switching to Rangda to cast barriers around them or Personas to physically shield them from the Shadow's attacks, but there were always attacks that slipped through, knocking his friends to the floor or into the air, covering them in cuts and bruises. He healed them up as much as he could; each time they would wave or give him a thumbs up before throwing themselves back into the fray. He watched them attack the tall Persona again and again, even as sweat poured down their faces, even as they grimaced with each step forward. He bit his lip, wincing at each of their cheers and battle cries.

 _Is this really all we can do? Is this the best I can come with?_ He shielded Morgana and Hanako from an Electric attack and watched them retaliate, their movements getting slower with each exchange. _It's good that the Persona hasn't used that big red attack yet, but it only used it last time after it was badly injured: who's to say the Shadow isn't just holding it in reserve the next time we knock it down? It doesn't have any tendrils for us to cut either..._ The Persona sent a hail of rocks down on them. Ren used Rangda to create a barrier around Hanako and crouch over Morgana as he covered Sumire. She gave him a worried look, but he responded with a smile, trying to hide his own growing fatigue.

He knew he wasn't doing a good job of it.

For a brief moment, the cacophany of shining rocks was all they could hear as they surrounded them, obscuring the battlefield. Sumire and Ren locked eyes in the chaos.

"I'm fine," he told her. Time seemed to resume. She couldn't hear him - of course she couldn't - but she read his lips and bit her own, looking away. Her red orbs watered, but before he could ask her why the attack ended and she ran out from under him, summoning twin swords to slash at their foe. Despite looking at her from behind, Ren could tell that even she - with all her gymnastic prowess - was getting tired. He hated to admit that it made sense though: with her Bless attacks being no use she was forced to rely on Physical skills - of course her health was draining quicker than the others'.

A second array of rocks formed in the sky.

_No! Already?!_

They pelted down. His team was too far apart for him to protect them all. He saw Sumire pirouette out of the way so cast a barrier around Hanako. Morgana, caught in the thick of the avalanche, ducked and weaved over several before a stray missile sent him sprawling across the floor. The cat sprung to his feet with a defiant grin and sent four giant fists hurtling at the Persona in return. The Shadow blocked it and Ren roared at the sight, running forward. He slid under one of the repelled fists as Arsene answered his wordless cry and appeared above him, firing a blast of black magic at the giant. The attack hit its side _just_ as the wings shielding it disappeared with a satisfying burst of energy and the being collapsed. The other Thieves charged to meet him, pelting the Persona with as many Physical skills as they could muster while also slashing and stabbing every inch of its skin that could reach with their own weapons, all four of them rasping for breath with each strike until the white figure swung an arm at them. They jumped back in time to avoid the hit, recalling their own Personas as it dragged itself upright. Instinct overwhelmed Ren and he leapt into the air, spiralling through the air and slashing at its torso as many times as he could before retreating a second time, feeling the second swipe of its arm brush past him as he went. It felt like marble scraping against his skin and the sensation made him stumble as he landed. He pressed a hand to his cheek and looked at it. Nothing. Good. He'd avoided taking damage, but only just. He looked to his right and saw a horrified Sumire glaring back at him. He raised his hand and hurried out a "Sorry!" as he turned back to their foe in time to see a flash of holy light where the Shadow stood.

The Persona fired the Element as a beam and world seemed to slow down again as Ren cursed: his stunt had left him too close to the being to dodge. He could feel Vohu Manah rushing to the forefront of his mind, but grit his teeth.

_There's no time!_

The world resumed as Ren crossed his arms and closed his eyes, only to feel someone shoving him out of the way. He landed on his side, hard, but only had the thought to look up at his savior. There was Sumire, holding her arm in front of her face as she bore the full brunt of the attack. He knew she was immune to it - it was her own Element, after all - but still struggled to his feet as quickly as he could, almost falling over a second time as his legs trembled. It took until the beam sputtered out of existence for him to join her, once again taking in the rivers of sweat pouring down her face, clinging to the edges of her mask.

"I'm so sorry." The second apology had left his lips before he'd even thought of saying them.

"It's okay, Senpai." Her voice was quiet, her breathing ragged and her eyes half-closed. But despite everything, she _smiled_ at him. "We'll get through this. I know we will."

He let out a long and low exhale he didn't realise he'd been holding in. "...I don't deserve you," he smiled and took a deep breath. A flash of lightning caught the edge of his vision. The Persona fired a mass of Electricity at Hanako and Morgana, but Ren was already running. He called Odin and sent the Aesir to shield Hanako as he skidded to a halt before the latter. The attack hit his back and bounced off in all directions, but he shrugged it off. Instead, it was the sight of his remaining allies gasping for breath that made him weak.

"Are you okay...Joker?" Morgana stood tall, his small body still trembling ever so slightly.

"Yes. Yes! Of course. You?" Ren stood at turned to face their foes once more, the cat moving to stand beside him with a short cackle.

"Hah, this is nothing! Just who do you think I am?!" Morgana did his best to grin, still trying to catch his breath. Ren forced a smile onto his own face and looked past Morgana at Hanako, who let sweat drip off of her face as she studied the gleaming figure standing against them. He did the same. He got the impression both it and the Shadow were gauging them in turn.

"Is there any way to stop it healing?" he asked Morgana, eyes still locked on the towering figure.

"No, I don't think so." Ren heard an annoyed flick of a tail slapping the floor. He glanced down to see Morgana shaking his head before folding his arms. "That seems to be a power of the Persona itself...and I don't think it'll be running out of the stamina to do that anytime soon either..." he groaned. "If only Oracle were here, she'd probably already have found a weak point by now! My analytical skills are nothing compared to hers!"

"Hey, no confessions until you're on your deathbed," Ren tilted his head towards his friend though his eyes remained fixed on their target, managing a genuine smile this time. "We're still gonna get out of this in one piece." He raised his head again, but saw Morgana look at him from the corner of his eye.

"Joker..." A pause, then "Right!" Morgana slashed the air with his scimitar and nodded. "We could use a new plan though."

Hanako, who until now seemed to have been fully absorbed in her own observations, snapped her fingers, making the boys jump as she turned to them. "Wait, what about the - "

A loud bang echoed through the air as the Persona fired a blast of Almighty energy.

"Everyone, brace!"

The Thieves did as Ren ordered, tensing at once. Ren, Morgana and Sumire raised their arms to shield their faces while Hanako held her naginata almost pefectly vertical in front of herself as she bounced on the balls of her feet. The orb of raw power splintered into its familiar streams and they scattered, dodging as best they could, but Ren hissed as the attack finally overwhelmed him. He felt the light flow over him like scalding water, scraping away at his skin until it dissipated. He grit his teeth as he struggled to stand upright, looking to his right to see Morgana and Hanako do the same. However, a glance to his left put a small yet thankful smile on his face: Sumire seemed to have completely dodged the sudden assault. He opened his mouth to congratulate her, but Hanako cut him off.

"What about the - " she coughed, then slapped her chest as she caught her breath.

"Melody-sa - !"

"I'm fine!" Hanako held out a hand and rushed the rest of her words out. "What about the crystal from downstairs?" She kept an eye on both the Shadow and enemy Persona as she spoke, ready to dodge again if she needed to. "You know, the Will Seed thing?"

"Huh? Wait, you mean this?" Ren held out his palm and the three-headed Crystal appeared above it, floating in a slow circle. A flash of white light distracted him and the Persona fired a sudden blast of holy light at him right after. He threw himself out of the way, rolling onto one knee and hopping back onto his feet, the Crystal forming in his hand again as he did so. "I don't know!" He didn't mean to shout. He continued with a more measured tone once the sudden spike of adrenaline left his system. "I still don't sense anything from it."

"But...it has to do _something_ , right?" Hanako pressed the back of the hand currently holding her gun against her waist. "Isn't that what you said?"

Ren grit his teeth as he tightened his grip on his knife, the Crystal still floating above his other hand. If only he could figure out what that 'something' was..!

As if sensing his frustration, Hanako took the grey thing from him, letting it float above her own palm as she gave him a tired smile. "Now now, let's not count our chickens out before they've even had a chance to hatch." She clenched her fist beneath the gem to make it disappear. With a satisfied "Hmm!" and her eyes still on her closed hand she shot herself with the other in one continuous, fluid motion as though it were the simplest thing in the world. "Now, let's go Orpheus!" The self-professed Mistress of Strings appeared above her, flames pooling in her palms as she followed the running Hanako back into the fray. Despite the situation, Ren couldn't help smiling at her retreating figure. He ran after her, calling on Thor to aid her by hurling yet another golden fist at their enemy.

Those two attacks sparked a second volley of attacks from the Thieves - Fire, Wind and Physica - that the Persona endured before firing a blast of Curse energy at Sumire. Ren shoved her to one side and took the hit for her, hissing as the foul attack wove searing trails over his skin. He forced one of his eyes open to see Sumire looking at him, tears in her own before she grit her teeth and summoned Ella. The Princess leapt over the continuing stream and spun, lashing out with both legs one after another. The Shadow spread her wings, deflecting both. Ren broke into a run, dodging one of the reflected strikes as Sumire jumped over the other, and screamed for Arsene. The gentleman thief launched an identical blast of black magic at the Persona. The attack struck true and it fell. Ren had Arsene immediately spin as he drew close and lash out with a kick, his bladed heel cutting deep into the other spirit's chest. The Persona skidded back and the other Thieves' Personas charged to follow up on the strike, but this time the Persona turned black at once. It raised its finger, summoned another giant red and black orb above its head and fired it before they could reach it. The orb again split into pillars upon pillars of thick, furious energy that split apart in midair before arcing down and stabbing into the ground. Again the Thieves were thrown back. Ren slammed into the ground and rolled, but twisted himself into a sprinter's starting position and kicked off with a yell of effort, calling on Arsene for another kick. His other self obliged, a sword-shaped aura forming around around his legs as he flew, but the white figure simply fired a large beam of Blessed energy at both selves for their troubles.

"S - Senpai!" Ren caught Sumire running to push him out of the way again from the corner of his eye, but mid-sprint one of her legs buckled, tripping up the other. She crashed down on all fours, then clutched her head with a loud groan. He reached out to her, trying to recall Arsene at the same time but the Persona was too close to the divine-looking figure to retreat before being consumed by the holy light and burning away. Ren muffled his scream as his other self was snuffed out, but it escaped from his mouth when his weak legs failed to save hmself from the attack. The white light crashed into him and sent him flying through the air. He slammed into the marble floor, bouncing once, twice before skidding to a halt the third time he hit it. He forced himself to his hands and knees to see Sumire still clutching her head. He looked to his side to see Morgana doing the same. Hanako meanwhile was back on her feet, gun to her head.

"Orpheus!"

Ren felt a familiar gentle warmth soothe his wounds, numbing the ache in his limbs so he could stand again. He did so, seeing Sumire and Morgana do the same, shaking their heads clear as they did so. He remembered feeling dizzy the last time the Shadow-Persona duo had used that large attack: perhaps it was so powerful it also had a chance to mess with their brains?

A low grunt brought him back to the present, his head whipping to the source of the sound.

Now Hanako was clutching her head. She fell to her knees and pressed one hand to the floor to keep herself upright, then the other, heaving and coughing over and over. The other three ran over to her, but Ren had a sneaking suspicion her current predicament wasn't the Shadow's doing: after all, she'd been fine when Sumire and Morgana had collapsed...

"Melody-san!" Sumire skidded to a halt and got on her own knees. She held Hanako's shoulders, but the older woman shook her off.

"I - I..!" She spluttered. Sumire called her name but Hanako held out a hand to stop her leaning in, her own gaze still fixed to the floor. "I'm...I'm okay. It's just...urgh, my _head_..."

"You're pushing yourself too far!" Morgana grabbed Hanako's wrist and leaned into her, features trembling slightly. Seeing Morgana of all people look so scared...felt _wrong_. "Leave the healing to me from now on," continued the cat "you just focus on attacking. You too, Joker! I'll do all the healing, you just keep shielding us or attacking as well!"

"But..." choked Hanako. "I..."

"It's fine!" Morgana grinned and puffed out his chest. "Don't forget, I was pretty much the only healer the Phantom Thieves had until you came along!"

"Is that...so?" She turned to him, revealing a sweaty face, flushed with gaunt eyes. Sumire gasped but she shook her head at her and chuckled at Morgana. She pushed off the ground and wobbled but refused Sumire's hand, forcing herself back onto her feet with her own power. "Then I'm sorry to ask this of you, but please take care of us." She inclined her head towards Morgana once more and, as if to prove she wouldn't be a burden, immediately shot herself in the head, calling for a fireball to strike their foe. Ren noticed Morgana smile at the sight, then fail to hide a quick wince and tremble of his own leg as he ran to support her.

_He's nearing his limit as well..._

Ren watched the Shadow shield the Persona from the simultaneous assault of Fire and Wind as it surrounded itself with pale blue light again. He fought the urge to scream, opting instead to rejoin the pair with Sumire at his side. After a moment's breath the Thieves split up, but at that exact moment the Persona summoned another volley of rocks. Sumire managed to weave her way through most of the missiles coming her way, but a stray caught her shoulder, jerking her back in a clumsy circle and into the path of many more. Ren called Rangda just in time to protect himself, but was too slow to shield Morgana or Hanako who too were sent sprawling to the floor. The trio pulled themselves to their feet and Morgana healed them all, but as soon as the blue light faded his legs quivered and he clutched his head.

 _This is bad..._ Ren grit his teeth. He'd lost count of how many times he'd had to do so in so short a time. _Sumire's healing isn't strong enough to cover our whole team. I have Maria, but I also need to conserve energy to shield everyone whenever I can: Morgana's the only reliable healer we have left. If this keeps up we won't even have the strength to spare for Physical_ or _Magical attacks!_

He called on Rangda and surrounded the Persona in a mix of red, purple and green lights. The Persona flinched, but the Shadow just tapped her mask and negated the spell, restoring her partner's strength the instant he'd taken them. He growled and held his knife out.

_I knew she'd do that. That's why I didn't do it earlier, what a waste of -_

"Senpai..?"

Ren shook his head at the touch of Sumire's soft hand on his arm. "...nothing. Everyone, switch to using items for now!" _Not that it'll do much, but at least it'll save our stamina while we think of something better._

He took out his pouch and grabbed the first solid object he could reach inside it: a small bottle with red liquid inside. He hurled it at the Persona. It bounced off its shin and exploded in a small ball of flame. The others followed suit, hurling items from their own supplies as they dodged the Personas attacks to the best of their abilities. He kept his eyes on the Shadow as he did the same, but she simply watched. They hurled items for several minutes, but not once did she try to shield her ally: it was as if she knew the items they were using weren't a threat.

Ren bit his lip, putting the molotov in his hand back into the pouch and returned the pouch to his pocket.. "I guess we have to go all in to get something out of you then...Thor!" He shouted the last word and the god of thunder appeared, jumping forward and punching the side of the Persona's face. The latter being floated back a few steps before righting itself, looking none the worse for wear. He growled. "Give us an opening already!" He ran in, knife arm held wide.

"Senpai, calm down!"

He caught a glimpse of Sumire's worried face and outstretched hand as he ran past her, ignoring both that sight and the sound of her frightened voice. He saw the Shadow surrounding her white titan with light purple energy and cheered to himself, leaping into the air and letting gravity strengthen his downward slash. He felt his blade tear the Persona's skin. He knew the attack didn't do much, but still the Persona froze for a second. He didn't know if it was from surprise or if the Shadow was simply mocking him for such a desperate ploy, but Ren seized the opportunity, switching Thor to Arsene and striking the giant with a Curse attack at point-blank range. At such a close distance the attack also hit him, but he endured the pain with grit teeth, forcing out a smirk as he watched the Persona fall to its knees once again. He jumped back at the sound of his approaching teammates, seeing their partners fly over his head as he did so.

"Ren-kun, please calm down!" Hanako shouted as Orpheus battered the larger Persona's head with her lyre.

"Yeah, Joker! We're all in this together!" Diego lunged with his rapier outstretched as Morgana continued her words. The blade pierced the Persona's abdomen before Diego kicked it back, leaving a small puncture wound in the blade's wake.

"He's right Senpai, we can still win this!" Sumire used Ella's signature skill. The marble beneath their feet shuddered as both of Ella's kicks struck true with deafening thuds, but the cost of the fierce manouevre brought the gymnast down to one knee, which in turn snapped Ren out of his reverie.

"Sumire, no!" He ran to her, but caught a flash of white-blue light in the corner of his eye. He turned, but was too slow to stop the blast of ice that crashed into his chest, sending him rolling across the floor.

"Senpai!"

Ren slid to a stop, prone. He tried to raise his head, but his body screamed in agony. Morgana tried to heal him, the beginnings of a pale blue light flickering into existence around him...but the cat fell to his knees, clutching his head and mouth opening to form a silent scream of his own. The blue haze sputtered away with no effect moments before a bolt of lightning struck Morgana from behind and threw him into the air. Ren forced himself to his feet with a yell and ran, grabbing the cat just in time. He checked to see if the cat was okay, but Morgana jsut gave him a determined nod. He set his friend down and both looked up to see Orpheus bash the Persona with her lyre. Their foe punched her back, then swung the coffins dangling from its other hand like a flail, sending her crashing into the floor. Hanako yelled and clutched her head, but without missing a beat the Persona raised its empty hand and summoned a golden fist of its own above its head and fired it at Sumire as she ran to the other girl. She spun away from the attack and called on Ella, who in turn lashed out with a pair of giant swords. The enemy took the hit head on, letting Ella gouge a thick line down its front and back with each blade, and retaliated by creating a ball of Almighty energy in its palm. Ren knew he was too far away to help but forced himself to run anyway, only to stumble and fall to his knees as the Persona fired, sending out the collected power in its hand as a wave that blasted both women away. They crashed into the floor, their limbs twitching as they struggled to rise.

_But how?! That thing should still be stunned! Are we getting too weak to hurt it?_

Sumire managed to stand, but her legs trembled too much for her to move, instead leaving her swaying on the spot, a hand around her arm with her head bowed. A flash of darkness drew Ren's attention to the Shadow and then the Persona as it looked at her. Ren tried to stand as a black orb formed in the palm of its hand, but his legs refused to work. He punched one of them over and over as the orb reached its full size. His legs relented and he pushed himself upright, but as soon as he took his first step the attack fired. He broke into a hobbling run as time slowed down again, trying to reach the winded girl. He called Rangda. He knew he was still too far away for the Magician to protect her but reached out his arm anyway as he stumbled yet again, clinging the naive hope that it'd get him to her even a little faster.

_Sumire..._

The attack was so close.

_Sumire..!_

No no no no no no no no no...

_Sumire!_

"No!"

A second figure ran into his field of vision and shoved Sumire out of the attack's path. The smaller girl fell back, mouth open and arms outstretched as she saw the attack meant for her crash into Hanako instead. One second the older brunette was right by her side, looking directly into her eyes.

The next she was sprawled out on the floor far away, unmoving.

Time resumed for them all as the beam of black light fizzled out, its work done. Ren saw Hanako's gun spin away from the impact site with a clatter and felt her naginata bump against his foot as it too rolled away, though with a duller sound. He'd heard something else too, something that had hit the marble with a much higher pitch, but had no inclination to find it, not that the other objects had registered in his mind either: all he could concentrate on right now was the older woman lying prone on the ground. All he could see were the thin trails of blood running down her still face, dripping over her nose, slipping into her parted lips. All he could hear was the smaller redhead who fell to her knees beside her before pulling the silent woman's head into her lap.

"Me - Melody - Melody...-san?" Sumire cleared her throat but her words remained broken. "No...p - please no...not again. Not again! I can't - I can't do this again Hanako-san...please! Please... Please open your eyes!"

A spot of bright grey drew Ren's attention to the otherwise dark marble surrounding it.

_Ah. Hanako-san dropped the Crystal. That's what that last sound was._

He felt himself bend down for a moment. Next thing he knew he was upright again with the strange thing in his hand. Why did he pick it up? He didn't know. Maybe Sumire's words about littering had gotten to him. He watched Sumire place her ear by Hanako's nose and look down her slim frame, a hand on her stomach. He watched the redhead's eyes widen for a second before she looked at him. Tears poured down her cheeks, the mask redirecting some down the sides of her face before it gave way to the increasing moisture and fell, bouncing off of Hanako's shoulder. Sumire let out a soft " _Ah!_ " then froze, her eyes locked onto Hanako's face.

...but even this disturbance wasn't enough to rouse her.

Sumire sniffed and turned to him again, the whites of her eyes as red as her irises, as red as her cheeks. A hint of slime leaked from one of her nostrils as she took short and sharp, yet rasping breaths.

"Se - senpai...she - she...Senpai...she's not - I can't hear her... Senpai, _she's not..!_ "


	26. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if there's enough to warrant a **TRIGGER WARNING** , but there's quite a bit of violence in this chapter. Please be advised if you think it'd affect you!

_No..._

Ren looked at the Crystal in his grasp once again.

_"Now now, let's not count our chickens out before they've even had a chance to hatch."_

She'd been so sure of it, radiating as always like a sun of optimism.

But she was wrong.

It had done nothing.

Her optimism had failed her.

It had done _nothing_!

If she'd just fallen unconscious...well, he didn't know if any of them had the strength to manage a healing spell, but they would have done _something_ to help her - no matter the risk to themselves. He knew he would. Sumire definitely would even with her weaker abilities. Morgana would too. But...if she had already stopped breathing, if she'd already gone that far...

He hurled the Crystal to the floor with the strength he had left. One of its three faces hit the marble with a loud crack that reverberated through the air. He felt a wide grin spread across his face at the sound and watched it roll onto its side, revealing a wide gash splitting one of the skulls keeping it upright in two.

_Good._

He felt a moment of triumph as he stared at it, the empty gaze of its third head staring into the sky. He heard Morgana approach on his stumpy legs. He turned at the sound in time to see him fall to his knees beside the girls with a soft "No..."

His team, both alive and...

He shook his head.

His team accounted for, Ren forced his head up, turning his own empty stare to the Persona floating before them, its silver form reflecting the moonlight with a faint emerald gleam. A voice in the back of his mind reminded him of the state of the battle. The Persona had already brushed off their initial assault, but now that they'd spent so many precious seconds with Hana...with _her_...well, surely they'd lost their chance to push what little advantage they'd had left? And with the damage they'd already dealt...

Right on cue, the giant figure turned pitch black and raised its hand. He heard a low chuckle escape his mouth as it started to form the now familiar sphere of red and black light above its head.

...then shook his own.

_What am I thinking? I just lost one friend, the least I can do is protect the others!_

He threw a quick glance at what remained of his team. Sumire's head was bowed, but he could still see tears dripping down her cheeks and onto Hanako's forehead, her chest trembling with quiet sobs. Morgana held her arm, swallowing over and over. Neither of them seemed able to speak. Ren shook his head again and faced forward once more as the sphere reached its full size. He broke into one last run, feeling the air around him grow hotter and hotter as he drew closer and closer. He mentally called on his loyal Arsene and he answered, forming above him, but before he could issue a command something large shot from behind him, the wind from its charge knocking him off-balance and breaking his concentration. Arsene dissolved into dark blue flames and he stumbled to a halt, looking up to see a familiar figure gripping the now-black Persona's wrist, forcing it ever so slightly back even as its own palm hissed and bubbled from the heat, a faint trail of white smoke wafting away from both it and the other hand pressing against the foe's shoulder for support.

"...Orpheus?"

He looked back. Black fog was now pouring out of Hanako's body, so much of it he couldn't understand how it had appeared in the short time he'd looked away, forming a loose cylinder around her even as Sumire shook her prone form, spluttering as the smoke buffeted her face. "H - H - Hanako-san?" she choked out. "Mona-senpai, wh - what's happening?!" She broke into further coughs as the cat stepped back, taking in the woman from head to toe as he shook his head.

"I don't know! Hey, Joker!" Morgana turned to him, eyes pleading as Sumire continued to shake the other woman. Ren took a step towards them but a roar whipped his head back to the ethereal figures in front of him as Orpheus pushed the other Persona's hand back far enough that both the red sphere above them and its own black coating dissipated into red and black wisps of light. Even the Shadow, whose gaze had until now been fixed to the sight of the weeping Sumire cradling Hanako's body, turned to the grappling Personas, twisting her torso to get a better view.

It was the first time she'd moved more than her hand since the battle had begun.

The immediate threat gone, Orpheus drew back her right hand - now bright red and bubbling like boiling plastic - only to grab the other Persona's other shoulder. Her foot touched the floor for a second, that moment all she needed to kick off with a second roar. The two Personas grappled as they flew, but their momentum continued on and on until Orpheus slammed their foe into one of the many pillars surrounding them, denting it inward with the impact, the raven atop it angled down as though it were observing the scene as its still-molting feathers continued to peel away, now streaming into the sky above.

Sumire screamed. Ren spun around to see the fog surrounding Hanako had erupted into a thick pillar of smoke shooting into the sky. Sumire held onto the prone figure as best she could, even as the heavy winds battered her, tearing away the ribbon keeping her hair in place. Her jacket and red locks billowing around her until even she knew to retreat, shutting one eye tight as she lowered Hanako's head to the floor as gently as she could before backing away to where Morgana stood. She fell to her knees, blowing cool air into her hands, but even then her eyes remained locked to where her friend had been, the space completely blotted out by the black essence that had consumed her. Ren ran to the redhead.

"Sumire! Sumire, are you okay?"

The younger girl snapped to attention as he drew near, turning to him with her eyes wide as if she'd forgotten he was even there before pointing at the other woman. Ren caught a flash of a dark red stain on her palm as she did so.

"Y - yes! But...but Hanako-san!"

Morgana opened his mouth, but a loud shatter resounded in their ears before he could speak. The trio turned as one to see Hanako's silver gun reduced to a pile of fine metal fragments, pale blue shards of crystal gleaming atop the small mountain. Wait...crystal?

Sumire looked to Hanako again but another loud noise, this one a bang, drew their eyes - even hers - to the fight. They saw Orpheus pull back from a headbutt before slamming its skull into the other Persona's again. Cracks spread over her forehead and its face, the latter too stunned to move.

Then Orpheus' face bulged outward like a swelling balloon.

A third arm burst out of it, sending shards of metal and glass flying as it grabbed the other spirit's left shoulder. It was black and bulky and wore an elbow-length, white glove. A matching arm punched a hole through the metal grating in Orpheus' gut and grabbed the white Persona's wrist. Both limbs suddenly pulled outward, both figures going taut for a split second before a giant screech of metal rung through the air. The Thieves covered their ears and Ren felt his legs quake from the sound as Orpheus ripped the arm from its socket, tearing through her own torso in the process.

"What the _hell_ is going on?!" shouted Morgana. The trio watched as Orpheus raised the severed limb to its new face as if it were a dead rat - the face made of a small white, fanged dome with two eyeholes resting on a much larger lower jaw, both hanging from a curved black protrusion - before crushing its wrist. Black and red liquid gushed out of the now-shattered joint for a lingering second before the entire appendage broke apart into black mist. A blast of wind, so strong it battered their eardrums and almost knocked Ren to their knees boomed behind them. They turned to see the black pillar in front of Sumire and Morgana expanding, until with another _bang_ it disappeared as if it had never been there to begin with, revealing Hanako back on her feet, a new gun pointed to her head.

Sumire struggled to her feet and tried to take a step forward, but staggered. She couldn't take a second, instead staying in her half-crouch with her head tilted up, looking at her. She opened her mouth but no words came out.

Ren knew exactly how she felt. He turned his gaze back to Hanako, feeling his own face turn as pale as his girlfriend's the longer he looked at her. The older woman's head was drooped, as was her body. Her unused arm dangled by her side. Her hair was loose, hanging over her face as she took a clumsy step forward.

Another crunch of metal.

Ren, Sumire and Morgana turned around to see Orpheus punch their foe's head back into the pillar, her fist lingering against its white face for a moment and further spreading the cracks running along it, then threw the still-stunned Persona to the floor with another crash and rush of wind before flexing its legs, tearing new ones out of the old. The rest of its body was also pitch black, covered in a dark jacket that billowed out around its waist from which hung a plain black scabbard, kept there by a brown belt with a golden skull and crossbones for a buckle. It drew its sword, long and thin, one-sided with slight serration near its hilt, and roared. Eight flat coffins, identical to the white Persona's, bloomed around its shoulders as it did so. For a moment they looked like the petals of a grotesque flower, they they flipped down into place behind its back like a wide cape. It floated in the air, watching its foe - no, its _prey_ \- struggle to rise again. One of its feet, draped in a soft, knee-length white boot that tapered off into thin rows of gold, hanging inches off the earth.

"H - Hanako-san has multiple Personas too, Senpai?!"

A soft flutter alerted them to the Shadow raising her finger to the sky again as the wings of her dress flared outward.

But Hanako whispered, her voice so soft Ren wasn't sure if she'd spoken at all until her gun fired.

" _Don't you_ dare _._ "

Hanako's new Persona - for it certainly wasn't Orpheus anymore - held out its free palm towards the Shadow. A large pool of Almighty energy spun out from beneath her feet, black and white pillars of light shooting up and down around her like a water fountain. The Shadow's posture was unaffected - it was as if she were standing on a glass panel above it the vortex beneath her - but she froze as the multi-colored ethereal matter clung to her wings like slime, weighing them down and down and down until -

They heard six loud squelches.

\- the added weight tore her wings from her. The slapped against the floor before melting into the still spinning spiral beneath her feet, hissing as though it were a pool of acid. At the same time Ren saw a thin, black line appear, connecting her to the Persona still struggling to rise, but a moment later it snapped. It too tore away from the Shadow and Persona, both halves soaring into the swirling abyss as though magnetized to it.

The lights disappeared.

The Persona managed to get to its knees, a hand covering the still leaking stump of its shoulder, but no wings appeared to shield it.

Ren understood what had happened.

With the connection between the Shadow and her(?) Persona severed, the black figure bounded through the air to its prey in a single leap. Just as the white figure tried to rise, Hanako's Persona grabbed it by its long hair and raised it into the air, pulling its sword back.

And thrusting it into the figure's scarred gut.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

Stab.

Stab.

Stab.

Stab stab stab stab stab stab stab stab stabstabstabstabstabstabstabstabstabstabstabstabstabstab

Ren lost count as Hanako opened up hole after hole after hole, covering the white figure in further wounds, each gushing out black and red liquid as she created the next. He glanced at Sumire and Morgana, their expressions matching the utter horror that kept him frozen to the spot. They turned as one to Hanako, but even in the crossfire of all three of their gazes the older woman didn't react. Her gun remained at her temple as she heaved. She raised her face for air and he caught a glimpse of her eyes between two locks of her fallen, dirtied hair.

They were glazed over.

Her new Persona grabbed the bloody figure's head and _slammed_ it into the floor, raising it by its skull once more before tossing it in their direction with a simple jerk of the elbow, as if it were nothing but a broken doll. The three old Thieves jumped back as the white figure hurtled towards them. Sumire screamed Hanako's name as it drew near her but again she stood still, even as the coffins in its remaining hand brushed against her skirt, whipping it and her hair in a brief flurry of wind before it crashed behind her. Did she even know what was happening anymore?

The white Persona couldn't even get to its knees this time. As soon as it touched the ground the black figure had leapt into the air, landing beside it with a crash and grabbing its arm before it could even roll to a halt, pulling it up by the limb and slamming it this way and that against the marble floor like a wet rag, the coffins in its hand clattering against the floor with each hit. Thud after thud after thud reverberated through the air, accompanied by the chilling crunches of metal and bone. The black figure kept swinging its opposite against the floor until the sheer force of its wrath tore the Persona's torso away from its remaining arm with a deafening mix of screeching metal and the squelch of blood as the figure spun across the floor, trailing blood and entrails behind it.

"Hanako-san!" Sumire came to her senses while the others just stared, running to the fourth member of their group and grabbing her shoulders. She shook the older woman, looking deep into her eyes. "Hanako-san, stop it!"

But Hanako remained rooted to the spot, her unfocused brown orbs refusing to acknowledge her. Instead she mumbled, as if talking in her sleep.

"I...have to...protect...my friends... protect...everyone..."

Ren turned to the Shadow. She stood still, simply watching the beatdown taking place before them, as if whatever thread Hanako had ripped away from her had taken any and all attachment she'd had with her partner with it. He followed the gaze of her still-smiling mask to see the now-armless figure doing its best to slither away. The black one tossed its sword away. Sumire shrieked as the blade spun behind Hanako, almost slicing through her Achilles tendon as it clattered past, coming to a halt further away. Meanwhile its former wielder had bent down and grabbed its foe by the skull once again, raising it to its own face. It opened its stiff metallic jaws slightly, just enough for Ren to make out the black material inside them, as if to sneer at the divine figure before wrapping its other hand around its neck. It pulled again. Pulled. Pulled. Pulled. It put in more and more strength into its arms. The other's eyes flashed various shades of red until, with a horrendous shriek of metal, its head _ripped_ away from its body in a shower of thick, red and black liquid. Sumire screamed. Morgana covered his mouth as he gagged and even Ren felt his blood run cold as Hanako's Persona simply dropped the now limp body as if it was just a piece of trash, raising its head to its own again. A demonic face stared into an angelic one, its luxurious locks now stained dark with its own blood. Only a few hints of its original gold remained.

The demon began to squeeze.

The cracks running across the white head spread further still, bit by bit.

Squeeze.

The head began to flatten, as if in slow motion. The two lines that already ran down its face by design started to bend outward.

Squeeze.

The head had no pupils, but Ren still felt as if its eyes were looking directly into his own, even as thin fractures appeared along their edges before growing inward to meet at their centres. He felt as if the once mighty figure was now begging for someone - anyone - to save it, even those it had just fought so hard against.

" _Finish it!_ " He, Sumire and Morgana jumped at the scream, tearing their eyes away from the pleading face, unable to believe such an alien, such a... _gutteral_ cry could ever be produced from a human. They turned to Hanako as she yelled again. " _Send it screaming into hell!_ " She wasn't even looking at her own handiwork. After all this time she still hadn't moved an inch, even now facing the silent Shadow though her eyes remained blind to the world. Far away to her right, her Persona's jaw parted a second time as if to smirk as it tightened its grip yet again. The head in its grip seemed to shrink as the cracks covering it split, sending pinpricks of metal in all directions. Smaller cracks spread across its eyes, fragmenting it like a fly's. A second later they shattered, adding shards of crimson glass to the carnage below. The next second passed in silence. Then the blinded skull exploded, tiny specks of metal showering the ground as five long, thin digits closed around the air it had just occupied.

A moment of silence.

Then what remained of the Persona's body hissed as its extremities - its legs, winged belt and the stub of its neck - turned to red-tinted black fog, the decay spreading to the rest of the corpse. Ren closed his eyes and looked away, but the sound still rang in his ears, only growing louder as more and more of the body broke apart. At least this way he could almost pretend he was back in Leblanc, listening to his friends passing fizzy drinks around.

Almost.

He took a deep breath that turned into two, three, more. He was almost afraid to see how Morgana and Sumire were handling what they'd just witnessed - especially Sumire, considering who had done the deed. It was fitting that Hanako had used a demon to lay low an angel - after all, that was exactly how he'd defeated the first God of Control - but at least Yaldabaoth had died with dignity, able to congratulate him and his friends as he passed away...but this? Compared to that, this was...

The hissing grew quiet. He opened his eyes to see the last of the Persona's bloody torso disappear. His heart leapt into his throat as Hanako's Persona roared in victory at the sight but it too faded away right after, Ren managed to catch a glimpse of Orpheus within it before it completely disappeared but didn't have the energy to comment on it, instead letting his head droop to the carnage. The blood and shrapnel faded away a moment after the Personas.

A thud.

A moment later Ren turned, his reactions dulled, to see Hanako on her knees with her eyes closed.

"Hanako-san..." Sumire wheezed. "...Hanako-san!" Sumire dropped to her own before shaking Hanako's shoulders. This time the woman fell forward, but Sumire caught her. She slid back and nudged Hanako as she fell so that the side of her face fell onto her lap. She twisted to the side and stretched her legs out from under her as Ren knelt beside her and did the same for Hanako's. Sumire tried to twist the older woman's shoulders to no avail and looked at him with a beseeching look. He understood at once, turning her legs the same way by tugging at her knees so Hanako could rest on her back. The deed done, he lowered his ear to her nose. He held his breath for a moment and listened, then raised his head with a sigh

"She's...shes breathing." Somehow he managed a smile, a smile which Sumire returned. She let out a soft " _Haa..._ " and sagged, tears flowing freely down her cheeks and over loose strands of her scarlet hair, sticking them to her face. Ren forced out a short laugh of his own and brushed a clump of it out of her eyes, feeling something warm on his own cheeks. He pressed his hand to one, surprised to see moisture cling to his fingertips as he drew it back. He let out another sigh, twisting to spread his legs -

"Guys!"

The teens followed Morgana's outstretched paw to see the Shadow watching them. Ren tensed and got back on his knees, but her mask turned a faint blue. He stood up as it peeled away, turning bit by bit into a stream of tiny, shining butterflies, reminding him of his own mask during his final encounter with Maruki. He heard Sumire ease herself out from under their friend and come to stand beside him as it finally disappeared, her gown following in a slow flash of more blue light, leaving the silhouette they'd followed so far. The Shadow started to disappear from the feet up, but the darkness cloaking her broke apart just a moment sooner, sending two ripples up her body - one seeming to cleanse her, the other erasing her - both separated by a thin band of visibility. They saw brown shoes followed by long white socks. Then a patch of skin followed by a knee-length black skirt and top.

If he'd had the energy to spare, Ren would have laughed at the knowledge that her clothes were already mostly black.

The shirt had two white strips leading up it, not unlike the lines running up the white Persona's face. She wore a small badge with a checkerboard pattern over her chest and red band around her left arm. Unlike Hanako's the latter had text on it, but her arms disappeared too quickly for him to read what it said. Next was her neck, revealing a white shirt beneath her jacket.

Then came her face. It too disappeared in less than a second, but Ren still froze and heard Sumire gasp as they took it all in.

They saw a grateful smile first.

Then wet cheeks.

Glistening, sparkling red eyes.

And thin air.

The teens stared at the space the Shadow had just occupied a moment longer.

"Was..." they jumped at the sound of the faint voice. "Was...that..."

They turned around. Hanako had rolled onto her front to see the Shadow as well and was now trying to push herself up, one hand clutching her head as she groaned.

"Hanako-san - "

"Hanako-san, are you okay?!"

Sumire's shout overpowered his words as she ran ahead of him, skidding to her knees beside her. Ren was grateful for the tall leather boots taking the brunt of the friction away from her, but knew that she wouldn't have cared even if they hadn't protected her. Morgana, who had remained beside the brunette, examined her face as she let Sumire raise her into a sitting position. She slouched forward and stretched her legs out in front of her, pressing a hand against the marble floor for support as Ren approached, looking from one teen to the other as she let out a quiet chuckle.

"Heh," she finished, squeezing her temples once more before looking at them again. Ren noticed her eyes clear once more. "You don't even waiting for the other to pause before you finish each other's sentences, do you? You just say the same things at the same time...you know, you two really are the perfect couple." She stuck her tongue out at them and grinned.

"H...Hanako-san! Y - y - you - !" Sumire opened and closed her mouth several times more, eyes darting all over her face as if she didn't believe what she was seeing. "Th - this is no time for...for jokes!" She spluttered at last. She burst into tears yet again and pulled Hanako into a fierce hug, burying her face into Hanako's neck. The older woman froze for a second, then smiled and wrapped her arms around Sumire in turn, twisting her torso a little so they could both get a better grip, pressing the hand opposite the redhead to the floor for a second to balance herself.

"Shh..." she soothed. "I'm alright. I'm alright, Vi - no, Sumire-chan, shh..."

_She's making jokes?_ Ren's mind finally caught up to what had happened. _Now? Just what is this lady made out of?!_

Smiling to himself, He fell back on his haunches and spread his legs out just as Hanako had and let out a second, much louder sigh of relief. Morgana collapsed beside him and leaned into his side. Ren placed a hand on the cat's head and pet him, the usually haughty member of the Thieves letting it slide as they watched the girls before them, one sobbing louder and louder as the other smiled, trying to hide tears of her own as she continued whispering to her. "Shh...I'm alright. I'm alright. Look, it's all over now. Everyone's fine..."

"It's all over..." echoed Morgana. He exchanged smiles with Ren and let out a sigh of his own, bouncing his legs on the floor like a toddler...then froze, one still raised in the air. "Oh no..." he jumped to his feet. "Oh no!" He ran to where the Shadow has disappeared and looked around. He darted in all directions, continuing his search, even getting on all fours and sniffing where she'd been and looking around again. The humans watched him. Ren didn't know why, but he felt a rising sense of dread fill him. His limbs begged for rest but he forced himself to his feet, gritting his teeth to muffle a groan, and limped over to his friend who now stood still, clutching his head once more. Something occured to him.

_Wait - don't tell me..._

Morgana noticed his presence and looked up at him, voicing Ren's new fear.

"The Treasure! Where did the Treasure go?!" Morgana's eyes curved downward, pleading with him. "It has to be around here somewhere, right? Help me find it!"

"R - right..." His body still ached. He couldn't think straight. Ren looked around for a moment then up at the sky, but saw only the same green moon that had observed both their climb and battle staring down at him. The craters on its surface were like a face, mocking him. Where could the Treasure have gone?

"I'm so sorry, Trickster."

He whirled around. There, a few metres from him stood Lavenza, her sad, golden eyes staring into his own. Beside her stood a much taller man - taller even than himself - in a blue suit and cap. He had the same silver hair as the girl. The same shining eyes. The same expression. But it was Lavenza who spoke again.

"I'm so sorry."


	27. Chapter 26

"Lady Lavenza?!"

Morgana jaw stayed open after he spoke her name, staring at the newcomers. Ren glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

_Oh, so the others can see her as well this time?_

He turned to his left. Still where they'd left them he saw the girls staring at the white-haired duo as well. Hanako's arms went taut as she raised her torso a few inches off the ground with a loud grunt. She hovered like that for a moment. Sumire placed her hands on Hanako's waist, but as soon as the older woman tried to bend one of her legs her arms gave way and she landed on the marble again with a soft _thump_. Sumire let out a short yelp and tried to lift her herself, but Hanako just gave her a quick wave and smile. A worried look lingered on the younger girl's face for a moment before she got to her feet, her fingertips grazing Hanako's arm as she rose before resting a hair's breadth above her shoulder - as if to grab her if anything happened. Given their bond and everything that had just happened, Ren couldn't blame her. He returned his gaze to the mysterious girl, who was watching the scene with her companion. The strange man gave the pair an intense look until he caught Ren's gaze from the corner of his own. In a flash he had straightened up, his expression neutral once more.

Ren lingered on the man for a moment but turned to Lavenza instead.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Lavenza composed herself and looked at him again, her face now as plain as the man's beside her.

"I'm afraid stealing this Palace's Treasure is impossible."

He froze for an instant, but took a deep breath. Exhaling, he folded his arms. "What, why? Because it disappeared?"

"No..." Lavenza's facade slipped and she looked away, biting her lip. She swallowed and turned back a moment later, her mask in place once more. "You can't steal this Treasure because - because it's simply something you cannot do."

"But...but we beat the Ruler!" Morgana gestured to the spot directly before him, where the Shadow had once stood. "Doesn't that prove we _can_ steal it?"

"You..." she looked away again, trying to compose herself once more. This time her face kept contorting until she scrunched up her face and stomped her foot. She glared at them, hugging her grimoire tight to her chest. " _You don't understand!_ "

"Then please explain it to us!" Sumire took a few steps towards them though her hand trailed behind her, still reaching for Hanako. "Please," she said again, calmly this time. "All we want to do is help our friend. Why are you saying that's impossible?" Her exposed cheeks quivered as she spoke. She brushed away the tears still staining them and looked at Lavenza again. The smaller girl opened her mouth. Closed it. Tried to open it again.

But no words came out.

She bit her lip a second time. Her own expression started to quiver, but the man beside her placed a gloved hand on her head. She looked up. The man patted it with a smile.

"Let me," he murmured, just loud enough for Ren to hear. Lavenza paused for a moment then nodded, keeping her head down as the man took a step forward. He cast his eyes over the Thieves one by one, lingering on Hanako before he pressed his right hand to his chest - Ren noticed a leather-bound book, much smaller than Lavenza's, in the other - and bowed. "Allow me to introduce myself." He stood up and continued. "My name is Theodore and, as you may have guessed from my appearance, I am also a resident of the Velvet Room." Ren inclined his head to show his understanding and he smiled, glancing at Morgana and then the girls, once more pausing on Hanako's face. She cocked her head and he averted his gaze with a quiet " _Ahem_." He looked back at Ren. "I'm sorry to say this, but you truly _can't_ steal this Treasure. I'm afraid Hanako-san's current state is the only thing keeping all life on both this world and my own from complete and utter annihilation."

For a moment there was silence. Ren broke it.

"What? Her not having memories is keeping the world safe...and there are two worlds now? You don't mean the Metaverse, do you?" He shook his head and looked from one attendant to the other. "But...that doesn't make any sense. We can help - Lavenza, you _know_ we can help! We've defeated two gods already, why don't you think we can handle something like this too? If the stakes really are as high as you say, then all we need to do is get the rest of the Thieves together! It'll be tricky to get them _all_ together at the same time, I know, but - "

"Trickster..." Lavenza's voice was soft, oh so soft, but it silenced him at once. "We don't mean to undermine your accomplishments. It's true that you and your friends have incredible strength and overcome incredible odds, but...this is beyond even you. Please believe me, my Trickster. In truth, even your combined strength is...well," she looked away once more. The arm with which she held her grimoire fell to her side. She clutched it with her other hand as she faced him again, lips pursed before she opened them again. "I'm afraid even your combined strength is less than a fraction of hers." She turned her head slightly towards...

"Huh?" Everyone turned at the sound of Hanako's voice. She tried to rise a second time, the same way as before. Sumire hopped over to her, but just as before she collapsed as soon as she tried to stand and waved the younger girl off with smile as she reached out to her. Instead of rising a third time, Hanako opted to simply point to herself with a confused expression, holding herself upright with her other hand. Sumire reflected her expression - one Ren was sure he and Morgana also wore - as the two girls looked back at Lavenza, the only ones of those present to do so.

"Trickster," said Theodore, drawing attention back to himself. Despite this his gaze lingered on Hanako a beat longer before he faced forward again. "Do you recall the last Arcana Lavenza gave you?"

"...yeah," Ren nodded. "It was The World, wasn't it?" He glanced at Lavenza and she flashed him a tiny smile.

"Indeed," she said. She glanced at Theodore, who gave her a quick smile of his own and patted her shoulder. She took a deep breath and looked at Ren again. "However, Hanako-san's final Arcana was..." she held her palm up and a brilliant golden light ignited above it. Ren cowered with a short yelp, holding a hand out to shield his eyes until the light faded. He stood up straight again, blinking furiously. He could make out Morgana doing the same in-between the flashes of self-imposed darkness. His vision recovered after a few moments. A quick look down and then to his left told him his teammates' vision had been restored as well. He looked at the light in Lavenza's hand, no longer blinding but still too bright to make out what was inside it.

Only now did he realize the sudden weight on his chest. Why weren't his lungs working anymore?

A few seconds later the light disappeared to reveal a simple card bobbing up and down in the air, rotating gently above her hand. As the card turned to face him, he noticed a striking similarity to his own World Arcana.

At least, the illustration was the same.

But whereas the card Lavenza had given him was white with a black and red illustration, this new one had a border of pure gold surrounding it, with art somehow shining light of every color at once, lighter shades fading in and out instead of the red and deeper shades replacing the black.

"This," explained Theodore, though Ren couldn't tear himself away from the sight to look at him "is The Universe. Our master has seen empires rise and fall and even he never thought he would witness it." Lavenza closed her fist and the card disappeared. The pressure in the air lifted at once and Ren let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He glanced at his teammates. They looked back and exchanged looks with each other as well, a mixture of awe and fear etched on each of their faces. He knew he had the same on his own.

"If even someone with this much power could only fight our worlds' greatest foe to a standstill," Theodore continued his explanation but paused here, focusing solely on Ren. "I know how accomplished you are, Ren-san," his golden eyes seemed to pierce his own "but do you truly believe you stand any chance against it?"

Ren opened his mouth on instinct, but couldn't find any words to say. He bit his lip, but Sumire stepped towards them again, coming closer this time. She brushed a long lock of hair from her face and placed her hand on her chest. "But still, we'll find a way!"

"I'm afraid it truly isn't possible..." Lavenza trailed off, then shook her head. She pressed a hand to her own chest as she leaned towards the redhead. "Please try to understand!" The Thieves jumped at her sudden shouting. "As I told the Trickster, we don't say this out of malice or a desire to undersell all you've achieved; this is just... _beyond you_! Please, I - I don't want anyone else to suffer!" Ren spotted the telltale glimmers of tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Someone in this world already tried and failed to defeat Death and paid the ultimate price: even now his soul is trapped in limbo, forced to shield us from her wrath! My brother's guest also fought and lost the same battle; all he wanted was for her to not suffer the same fate as well! This..." she looked at her plain black shoes before she continued. She sniffed. Her tears refused to fall. Ren saw her neck tense as she forced her words out. "This was the best compromise he could achieve!"

"Compromise?" Hanako spoke once more.

Lavenza pursed her lips as once again all eyes fell to the seated woman. She pressed her lips together a moment more before she continued. "The end of the world comes in two parts." She raised two fingers. "Nyx, the Death Bringer and Erebus, the one who calls for death - the embodiment of all the world's grief." She indicated them by half-lowering one finger at a time. She lowered her hand after naming the latter and continued her explanation. "If these two beings come into contact in their completed forms, all life on Earth will end. This is what the young man of our reality gave his life to prevent. Although Nyx was the one who fought, both she and Erebus were momentarily weakened by her clash with The Universe. He used this opportunity to transform his very soul into a barrier separating the two. But in my brother's reality, he was able to steal a small portion of each of those foul beings as they broke apart. With our master's blessing, he then sealed them within Hanako-san and brought her to this world. I suppose you could say she became a...a cage, instead of a seal like her counterpart here."

"So your world's version of Nyx and Erebus will be forever unable to meet." Ren turned to Theodore as he spoke, who replied with a silent nod.

"Yes," Lavenza nodded as well. "But even those fragments of their power are still incomparably vast. You should know that for yourselves, having fought hints of them yourselves."

"What?" Morgana took a half-step forward, but the silver-haired girl just shook her head and continued.

"You fought mere fragments _of_ the fragments my brother sealed away and barely survived each time. But even when Nyx and Erebus are defeated, in time they simply reform anew. This is true no matter their size, which is why my brother had to further lock them away using Hanako-san's true identity - the only existence that could keep them in check - as a key."

"..."

Silence reigned for a few moments. They'd fought a number of powerful Shadows, both in this Palace and Hanako's "Oasis", but there were only two that Ren would ascribe the...the _fear_ in Lavenza's words to. Both Shadows would have completely and utterly destroyed them had it not been for Hanako's sudden aid each time. If what the little girl said was true, perhaps both of those moments had been hints of Hanako's true power rising from her subconscious to confront the creatures it had been forced to seal away? He bit his lip as thoughts raced through his mind. Eventually a question formed from the chaos, but before he could voice it Lavenza continued her explanation.

"Trickster..." she gave him a sad smile, her eyes piercing through him just like the man's standing beside her. Her expression was knowing, as if she were reading his thoughts. "If Hanako-san were to remember who she truly is and regained her original self, this place would disappear and the pieces of Nyx and Erebus here would be freed. The young man currently holding our world's Nyx and Erebus in check is constantly being pushed to his limit as is: can you imagine what would happen if even one of those pieces were to fuse with its counterpart? Even a small increase in pressure from either side of his barrier would destroy it. Nyx and Erebus would meet and all life on this planet would all be annihilated - plants, animals, insects, humans - they would all cease to exist, gone with a snap of the fingers!" She snapped her own, the faint sound echoing in the open night sky. She took a deep breath. "But it wouldn't end there. There would be an excess of both Nyx and Erebus in this world: that excess would overflow into the others. It would be a - a...'domino effect', as you humans call it. Each overflow would create more excesses, then more overflows into even more realities, then even more excesses still! And - and..." she took another deep breath. "It would be a chain reaction of extinction the likes of which you couldn't even imagine. To tell the truth, even _we_ don't know what the consequences would be..."

"But...but we can..." Sumire spoke at last, but her voice was weak. She fell to her knees. "We can still..!" She squeezed her fingers, swapping the dominant hand every second as she watched them work. Ren caught flashes of light over her writhing digits as fresh tears fell on them.

"I see." Morgana folded his arms. Lavenza tilted her head at the sound of his voice.

"Morgana?"

"Joker can wield multiple Personas, right? Ever since I saw him do it I've been wondering what would happen if someone naturally had multiple personalities, so when Hanako - someone with amnesia - manifested a second Palace, I wondered if it was perhaps her original personality trying to surface, but now..." he looked around. Ren did the same, taking in the multiple shades of grey making up the floor, the black pillars - one still bent from the battle - and the feathers flying off of them even now "...now I'm not so sure. Everything here looks so... _bleak_ ; from what you say it could be that this Palace actually belongs to one of those entities you locked inside of her. Maybe this place is just a physical manifestation of the seal Mr. Theodore created?"

"To be perfectly honest, we're not entirely sure who rules this Palace - or if it even _is_ a Palace - either," Lavenza sighed and looked around as well. "But if it is, it's even possible it was formed from both Nyx's _and_ Hanako-san's desires for freedom." She winced and clenched her fists, looking at the floor with glistening eyes. "Forgive us everyone. We know this isn't a humane solution. Especially considering recent events." She clapped her mouth shut, eyes wide. Even Theodore winced.

"What do you mean?" Sumire took another step forward, glancing back at Hanako to check if she was okay. The older woman gave her a quick smile. Sumire nodded and faced the Velvet Room residents again, looking from one to the other. Lavenza closed her eyes and let out a long breath, then turned to Ren, looking from one of his eyes to the other.

"Trickster..." she said at last "do you recall what I said when you first stepped foot inside the tower, that your coming here had set certain events into motion?" He thought for a moment.

"...yeah. Yeah, you did." Ren nodded. Lavenza bit her lip. Sumire glanced at Ren as he spoke but now watched Lavenza, panic seeping onto her face the longer the smaller girl deliberated.

"In truth, I wasn't referring to just you and your allies. This world and even Hanako-san herself are at risk when outsiders appear here."

"What do you - "

"Did we hurt Hanako-san?!" Ren couldn't remember Sumire ever interrupting anyone unless they were teasing her. He looked up just as she sprung to her feet again. She cupped her nose and mouth with her hands, her eyes swollen as they stared at Lavenza. The little girl tried to hold her gaze, but relented after just a few seconds, turning to the floor once more and biting her lip yet again. Theodore placed a gentle hand on her small back and replied in her stead.

"To continue what my sister said earlier, we don't know the exact details of this place" Lavenza looked at her brother as he spoke with wide eyes and a thankful smile "but we do agree with Morgana-kun's hypothesis that this is a manifestation of the seal Hanako-san's mind formed around Nyx and Erebus. As such, it contains the full might of all three of their spirits. To be quite frank, even _we_ are at risk here...or at least we would be were it not for..." he fell silent, his eyes dropping from Sumire's as he wet his lips. Ren got the impression that he was trying to find the right words for what he wanted to say next.

A few seconds later Theodore looked at Sumire again, turning slightly to better look at her while also keeping Ren and Morgana in his peripheral vision. "Not only are these three spirits immensely powerful, the balance between them is incredibly delicate. This place..." he turned his gaze in a circle, taking in each of the pillars surrounding them "was meant to be buried deep within Hanako-san's mind, never to see the light of day. However, Hanako-san's experiences in this world - " he looked at the brunette. His mouth opened and closed like a fish's but no words came out for a few moments. He swallowed and before continuing, but Ren noticed his gaze was slightly off, aimed somewhere over her left shoulder instead of her face. "Your experiences led to you forming a Palace. That alone should have had no effect, but..." he stopped again.

"It's okay," Hanako let out a long breath and smiled, but just like her body her face looked so _tired_. "You can say it." Sumire lowered her hands to call her name, but she waved her off yet again, her hand slow as it sailed back and forth between them.

"...forgive me, Hanako-san." He bowed to her but when he spoke again it was to Sumire. "Where was I? Ah, yes - Hanako-san having a Palace should have had no effect on the seal, but...somehow both became connected. It may have been a pure accident at first, but with how... _tightly_ the two became entwined...well, I suspect Erebus had a part to play in it." He stroked his chin and glanced at Lavenza. The siblings nodded to one another. "Of the two, Erebus was born from human despair and is thus drawn to it. And considering what Hanako-san's Palace represented, well..." he trailed off and glanced at Hanako again. The woman leaned back and gave him a lazy smile followed by just as energetic a thumbs-up. After just a moment in the air it dropped into her lap like a rock. He grimaced at the sight.

"So what you're saying is that Erebus got into that first Palace?" asked Ren. Theodore jumped at the sound of his voice, but Ren didn't have it in him to laugh. "Or that - I dunno - he stayed in this one but acted like some sort of magnet to hold the two together?"

"I'm afraid we don't know that either," said Lavenza, but Theodore patted her shoulder again and gave her a soft smile. She pursed her lips, opened her mouth to talk to him...and failed. She returned her gaze to the floor. It seemed she still wasn't ready to properly rejoin the conversation yet.

"Indeed," continued her brother. "We don't know the extent of Erebus' influence over Hanako-san or her Palace, but...I'm sorry to say this," he said to Sumire. Her mouth opened and her eyes widened, forming three 'o's of horror, but Theodore had already turned back to Ren. "When you found a way to materialize this Palace inside Hanako-san's...think of it like Schrodinger's Cat." He raised his hand, palm up, and rotated it back and forth about his wrist. "Until that point, the connection between the two Palaces were mere possibilities. Whatever links Erebus was able to form were tenuous at best. But when you witnessed this tower on her island," he stopped his hand with his palm facing sideways, "you set the path between them in stone and a portion of Erebus was able to escape into Hanako-san's mind."

Sumire gasped, but Theodore raised that same hand, palm outward this time, and smiled. "Please don't worry. You have already dealt with that issue and saved Hanako-san's heart in the process..." his smile slipped. "From something... _I_ did to her no less." He bowed to the redhead. "You have my thanks."

Sumire blinked. "Oh...oh! Oh...I...um..!" She continued to blink until they heard the sound of Hanako's laughter ring through the air, a soft melody befitting her codename. She turned to see the older woman give her another tired smile of her own.

"You have mine too, Sumire."

"Um...thank you." Sumire gave her a short bow. Ren caught the tiniest of smiles on her face as she turned back to the white-haired man, though it was gone by the time she spoke again. "Um...but that isn't the end, is it, Theodore-san?"

Theodore nodded. "I'm afraid not." He frowned for a moment, then continued. "As you're already well aware, you found Hanako-san's...Treasure - for lack of a better term - and collapsed her Palace...however." He stopped. He frowned again, but this time he stayed silent. Eventually Lavenza tugged at his fingertips.

"Brother?"

He snapped back to reality and met her worried gaze. Another second passed as they spoke with their expressions, after which he gave her a slow smile and nod. Lavenza looked between the Thieves before returning her eyes to Ren and resumed the explanation in Theodore's stead.

"However:" Ren took a moment to admire how she picked up on the exact word Theodore had left off at "recall how my brother said the balance of power within this Palace was delicate?" Ren nodded. He caught Morgana, Sumire and even Hanako nodding from the corners of his eyes. "Well, when you destroyed Hanako-san's Palace, the...aftershocks, if you want to call it that, in her mind also affected this one." Sumire gasped, but Lavenza half-raised an arm towards her. "You changed the very core of her being: we believe you would have affected this Palace even if it hadn't manifested in the other at the time."

"That's not..." muttered Sumire, but hugged herself and looked away, her words trailing off.

 _...the problem here,_ Ren finished her sentence in his mind. Lavenza still had much to learn of human nature it seemed, as she simply shrugged after waiting for a continuation that never came and carried on. A frown flickered across Theodore's face at this, but he remained silent.

"As a result of this disturbance, Hanako-san's original self's mental state was also destabilized." Sumire gasped a second time, but when Lavenza paused she cupped her mouth and shook her head. The latter continued, keeping an eye on the redhead as she resumed. "...Erebus was too...primitive to do so, but at this moment Nyx was able to take control of her mind. While we still don't know who normally rules this Palace, she was in control from the moment the first Palace fell and throughout your journey here."

Sumire let out a muffled scream. All eyes turned to her, though Ren felt like screaming himself. Lavenza raised her hand and spoke again.

"Please, do not be alarmed. Thanks to your victory today, you have returned this place to its status quo. All three of the powers here are currently recovering, but Hanako-san's original self will regain her strength quicker than both Nyx and Erebus - despite her power she is still a human after all. It will be dangerous to enter this space once that happens as we explained before, both for ourselves and for Hanako-san, but when it does the balance of this place will be restored and she will be able to return to her duty as the guardian of this tower - and in turn both our worlds. In fact, thanks to your actions here she has gotten the chance to do something she hasn't been able to in eight years: _rest_. So we thank you, my dear Phantom Thieves." She curtseyed.

But Sumire collapsed again, landing on her knees with two faint _thuds_ of leather, her head bowed. "But...but all of this happened...her mind was only 'destablized' _because of us_! A - all we did was fix our own mess! If you know everything that happened here, how can you thank us for letting her rest if - if we did all _that_ in the process?!" She gestured wildly to where the strange figure had disappeared, tears streaming anew down her face. "I'm...I'm glad we helped the Hanako-san with us right now," she waved an arm at her "I'm happy she feels better now, I truly am: she even has a Persona to show for it! But...but to hear all this..!" She buried her face in her hands and screamed, then let out heavy, rasping sobs one after another. Ren and Morgana walked over to her. Ren heard a buzzing in his ears, felt static running wild in his mind as he got to his own knees and wrapped one arm over her shoulders, the other over her arms. Morgana in turn sat beside her and patted her thigh, but the girl continued to weep, her trembling the only movement her tense body allowed her to make. The boys exchanged glances, but Theodore spoke before they could think of anything.

"If it's any consolation," he began. "Know that without a Palace, Hanako-san will never be prey to this place's influence again. And..." he chewed his lip "you were only trying to help. The cause of all this...is me." He looked away. His lips quivered, but it was with a steady voice that he continued. "I'm not proud of what I did," Sumire looked up, sniffing, and met his eyes once more "but I hoped that...even if her original self was lost, Hanako-san could still live a new life in a new world. A happy life." He turned to the older woman, but finally kept his gaze on her as he spoke. "I...I truly did want you to be happy. I still do."

Ren turned as well. Even now Hanako sat on the floor with her legs outstretched and her arms supporting her, only now she wore an empty smile on her face.

And he couldn't blame her.

To be told she had incredible power but had lost not only her original memories but her friends, her family, her home, even her entire _reality_ as a result! If he were in her position, how would he react? He couldn't even begin to imagine what was running through her mind right now. It had never been a guarantee but considering how they'd found this Palace he knew they - especially Sumire - were hoping they'd learn more about Hanako by exploring it. To think the cost of the knowledge they sought would be so great... He went back over everything the siblings had told them, trying to make sense of the white noise still clouding his thoughts. So all this time, Hanako-san hadn't even been in control of this Palace, it had been some other... _thing_?

At that moment an image swam in front of his mind's eye, clear as crystal through the static.

The Will Seed rooms.

Was that why they'd been so...lifeless? If Nyx was the bringer of Death...well, no wonder the plants inside were decayed, no wonder they were silent. Is that what they'd done to Hanako's other self? To think they'd almost destroyed both her identities to make it this far, almost losing Hanako's life and risking their own in the process. He thought back to Futaba, Makoto and Yusuke. They'd travelled so far to help. They'd risked their lives too and thanks to their efforts the four remaining Thieves had come _so far_ , come within mere feet of the Treasure, fought such horrifying foes...and all they'd accomplished was fixing the harm they'd done along the way.

But.

They'd helped Hanako, hadn't they? That made him truly happy, just as it did Sumire. And while he agreed with her that it was wasted praise, hadn't they also let her original self 'rest' too? That was good news, but still: to be told such a mundane feat was all they'd managed despite all the damage they'd caused and that true victory was forever out of reach, to see Theodore and even the always supportive Lavenza acting like nothing was going to change...

_I - I can't just..!_

He clawed at his mask before throwing it away and clutched the side of his head. "But...we sent a calling card," he slowly got to his feet, gritting his teeth. He caught Morgana getting up after him with the corner of his eye. "The Treasure's already been materialized, this is our only chance to steal it! If the effect fades..."

"The Treasure will be lost to us forever," finished Morgana. "Even if things change or we come back stronger."

Another pause. This one continued for many seconds until...

"...yes," said the little girl at last. "I'm so sorry, my Trickster."

Ren's fingers curled into fists of their own accord. "...you set us up, didn't you? You _wanted_ the card to expire."

She looked away, her eyes watering. "Please don't say it like that, my Trickster..." she coughed. "I - it breaks my heart that things have transpired this way..."

She was saved from saying more by Theodore, who held an arm out in front of her. "Please Ren-san. I said it to Sumire-san and now I say it to you: if you must blame anyone for what happened here, please blame me. I'm the one who brought Hanako-san to this reality after all. I'm the one who swore Lavenza to secrecy too."

Ren just looked at him for a few seconds more before letting out a deep breath, relaxing his hands. "...I'm sorry," he said after another. "I know. I know you just wanted to help her and I know you were trying to keep your own world safe as well, but...Lavenza said it herself, didn't she?" He motioned to her. "This is just...too cruel!" He turned to Hanako and sensed the others doing the same. Her eyes darted from gaze to gaze before returning to his.

She just shrugged and gave him a sad smile, a smile she then turned to everyone else both human and supernatural.

He still didn't know what he would do in her situation, but he was sure he was nowhere near strong enough to just sit there and...and _smile_ at everyone.

"...I refuse to accept this."

Now all eyes were on Sumire. Ren had never seen her so angry before. She got to her feet and tapped her fist into the side of her leg as she leaned forward slightly, her body still tense, her loose hair spilling around her like flames. "There has to be some way to save her! Just like when you were arrested, Senpai! There has to be some rule somewhere, a loophole or - or _something_! Some chance, no matter how small...there has to be!"

The white-haired siblings looked at each other, then at her.

"Well," said Theodore slowly. He glanced at a spot over her shoulder for a moment before centering his gaze on her again. "There is...one way."

Sumire stood up straight, her eyes wide. "I knew it! What is it? I'll do anything!"

Now it was his turn to purse his lips. "You see," he said after another slight pause "first, you must accept that there is no stopping Nyx. She is a part of nature, after all: the embodiment of death itself. Now matter how weak her physical form becomes, she will always endure. This holds true for this and all realities, my own included." Sumire nodded, her fists clenched and the rest of her body perfectly still. Theodore took a deep breath. "But Erebus..." he wet his lips. "As I explained before, Erebus was born from humanity's combined despair, but it also draws sustenance from it. So, if humanity as a whole was to stop longing for death..." he trailed off. Sumire frowned and let out the breath she'd been holding while the man spoke, her entire frame seeming to deflate slightly as the air left her.

"...longing for death? What do you mean?"

It was Lavenza who answered, looking her straight in the eye. "Are you saying _you've_ never felt as if life was too painful to go on?"

Sumire froze, her lips parted slightly. Then she began to shudder. Her body continued to shake and fresh bout of tears formed in her eyes. Ren stepped towards her but she held her palm out to stop him, still meeting Lavenza's gaze. He paused midstep, placing his foot back on the marble as she took a small breath. "S - so I...I was a - a part of the problem?" She bit her lip. Silence reigned for a few seconds as she looked down. Watching her so deep in her thoughts stirred a memory in Ren's own.

"Then Dr. Maruki..."

But Sumire stopped him again, this time with a shake of her head. She glanced at Theodore, then looked again at the seemingly young girl. "I - it's true that I was like that in the past. I spent years wishing I could just d - disappear, then months hiding from those thoughts - hiding from _myself_! - ...but I chose to live. Thanks to S - Senpai and all the friends I met through him, I found the strength to face my fears instead, even if they come true." Her voice grew louder as she spoke. "So...it's just my turn to pass the favor forward, isn't it?" She let out a shrill giggle, one that lasted only a second before she composed herself. "I just need to make sure no one else feels that way again, right? We fought for a world where everyone can be true to themselves, a world where they can grow, become better. I'm sure saving Hanako-san's life would be easier in a world where everyone got what they wanted, but..." she sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes once more. "But I still...I still believe in what we did! A - and this is a world Hanako-san deserves to live in too, without any seals on her memories! I - in fact..!"

She pulled off her glove to better wipe her tears away then walked over to where her rapier lay discarded by Hanako's side and kicked it up. She caught it in her bare hand, then tossed it in the air. It twirled above her head - twice, thrice, five times, six - as it spun down but she caught it by the hilt and hurled it like a dart. It shot through the air with a _woosh_ of wind, almost singing until it pierced the marble floor directly between Theodore and Lavenza. The siblings had taken an instinctive step back as it drew close but now let out a quick breath of relief as they watched the hilt - still pointing towards its owner - vibrate to a halt. "In fact: I vow to you, here and now!" They stepped back into position though their eyes - like all those present - were locked onto Sumire's face. Her voice was louder and she stood tall. Her loose, messy hair still hung around her face like fire but now the flames had spread to her eyes. "If this Erebus... _thing_ gets its power from human suffering, then I will do everything in my power to snuff it out. And I'll do it with my own two hands too, without relying on any brainwashing or actualizing powers, so that Hanako-san can live a free life in the best possible world for her! I don't care how long it takes: days, months, years, decades, I _will_ save Hanako-san!" She turned to the brunette and took a knee beside her. "Do you hear that?" She beamed, her eyes still wet despite the words that had just left her mouth. "You'll be back before you know it!"

Hanako chuckled, her voice soft and own her eyes watering as she cupped Sumire's cheek. "Did you really just say you'll change the whole world, just for me? Your boyfriend's going to get jealous~"

Sumire just smiled and placed her hand over Hanako's. "Of course!" She gave it a squeeze. "Didn't you hear me? I once helped Senpai stop someone from controlling the thoughts of everyone in the whole world! And right after that, my friends and I rallied an entire city to get him out of jail last year. We even got people outside Tokyo to do it and guess what? We didn't need the Metaverse for _any_ of it! This is just a few levels up from that, right?"

Hanako gaped at her for a few seconds. Then she laughed and pulled her forward to kiss her forehead. Sumire squeaked at the touch of her lips, her cheeks turning red like clockwork. Hanako smiled, lingered on her forehead for a second longer before pulling back with the faintest of _pops_ and looking her in the eye. Sumire's blush deepened under the intensity of her gaze, but before she could say anything Hanako burst into quiet laughter. Sumire stared a moment longer, mouth still open, then she smiled and broke into giggles of her own. They continued laughing a few seconds more, both girls beaming as they looked at each other, before their laughs subsided and Sumire looked up. The eyes that had burned like a hearth for Hanako became an inferno as she stood up and spun on the spot to face the Velvet siblings.

"So." She continued. "You heard me, didn't you? This is my resolution. Just _try_ and stop me!"

A flash of blue on the other side of Hanako's legs was the only warning those present got before Ella burst into existence behind her, surrounding her and Hanako in a ring of blue flame and throwing her long red locks up like a second, smaller blaze. Sumire placed her fingertips on Hanako's shoulder again while her Persona held out furled and unfurled her own at the siblings, as if inviting them to accept her challenge, Ella's other hand keeping a tight grip on her bouquet. Ren couldn't help the smile that spread over his face, nor could he stop himself marching over to her - surprised by the sound of his heavy footsteps - and pulling her into a fierce hug. She struggled for a moment, pushing against him with a faint " _Senpai..!_ " before relenting. She shook her forehead against his chest then wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight in return as she tried - and failed - to hide her small smile. Ren felt Morgana hug their legs at that moment, the three-part embrace lasting for several seconds until they heard Ella disappear. He let go of his girlfriend, feeling her mask against his skin before he saw it back on her face, though her hair remained loose. She bent down and lifted Morgana up into a tight hug of his own, the cat leaning into her soft embrace with a quiet sigh.

 _Heh. He's not complaining about being pandered to for once,_ Ren thought with a smaller smile. He turned to the white-haired duo. "Well, you heard the lady." He tucked his hands into his pockets. He heard Sumire put Morgana down and the faint creak of leather as she stood tall beside them. "We'll save Melody no matter what it takes. All we need to do is change the world's distorted desires, correct?"

The siblings exchanged another pair of glances before Theodore opened his mouth. He let it hang for a moment. "...yes." He smiled. "But it will be difficult. You know this will be a long endeavor, correct? Sumire-san said she was willing to wait for decades, but it really may take that long. It may even take your whole lives. Will you fight on, even knowing that?"

"Of course!" The three Thieves spoke as one, grinning to each other when they noticed.

"Don't underestimate us!" added Morgana after. "We're the one and only Phantom Thieves, after all - that's just another day's work for us! We've saved our own world three times already - it's getting boring at this point! So saving it _and_ Melody's world? That's the perfect next step for us, it'll be our greatest heist yet!"

"Well said, Morgana." Lavenza finally gave them a genuine smile. Ren couldn't even remember how long it had been since he'd seen her entire face lit up as it was right now. "As my brother said, this will be a long and arduous journey, but if you're the ones leading the way...well," her smile grew even wider for a moment "then I have the utmost faith that you will not only see both our worlds to their rightful states, but also save both Hanako-san and the other soul hanging in the balance as well. I know my sister, for one, will be most pleased! And if you were to join forces with other like-minded individuals with resolute wills like yours..." she placed a hand over her heart. "I truly, _truly_ believe you will be successful. And so, on behalf of not just ourselves but the attendants of every Velvet Room in every world..." Theodore matched her posture with his other hand - still holding his own grimoire - pressed against his back. They bowed at the same time, speaking in unison.

"We thank you."

Sparkles of different shades of blue appeared at their feet before a large but soft blue light grew around each of them. The lights covered them up to their necks before intensifying for an instant. The Thieves blinked against the glare, but that moment was all the mysterious siblings needed to disappear completely. Ren, Sumire and Morgana looked at each other.

A heartbeat.

They smiled and nodded at each other, then parted. Sumire put her glove back on as she turned around and crouched, pulling one of Hanako's arms over her shoulders. Ren caught Morgana walking in the opposite direction as he pivoted around to look for his mask, chuckling at how far it had skittered away once he found it. He walked over to it and picked it up, looking it head on for a moment before flipping it over and fixing it to his face once more.

It felt so good to have it back.

He turned to the others. Hanako was on her feet now but still hung from Sumire, the other girl holding her upright with not even a wince crossing her face. Ren smiled at the sight.

_"Just what I'd expect from an athlete," as Futaba would say._

Morgana walked a step behind the pair as they approached Ren, watching both Hanako's face and legs closely for any signs of pain or collapse. Something thin trailed from the cat's side, almost touching the floor. It took Ren a second to realize Morgana had found and wrapped Sumire's stray ribbon around the length of his arm. He smiled at the sight.

_So that's what you were looking for! What a considerate kitty. Seems like your observation skills aren't half bad after all._

He glanced away when Morgana tilted his head at him, taking the opportunity to look around the roof of the tower once more. They were leaving this place for good, but it wasn't collapsing as Palaces usually did in their wake. Was it odd that he actually missed their death-defying escapes?

No.

Because _that's not what he was missing_.

The thought struck him like a lightning bolt. It was the reason _why_ they were leaving with the Palace intact that was tearing him up from the inside out right now. He wanted to scream at the unfairness, at the cruelty of it all. Despite everything he had just learned he still wanted to tear the tower apart with his bare hands if that's what it took to destroy it; surely the others felt the same! They could deal with the consequences as they came, right?

...but he shook his head. This was no time to be a perfectionist: not only was the entire world counting on him now, so were his precious friends.

He looked ahead once more to see each of their faces returning his gaze.

Each one was battered.

Bruised.

Beaming.

He turned back one last time.

_We'll settle the score with you yet. Just you wait and see._

He faced his friends again.

He adjusted his gloves.

And gave them the smirk they loved _oh_ so much.

"Well, shall we begin?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter of the story, but I'm considering an afterword of sorts to go through my explanations for certain decisions as well as providing a breakdown of all the Shadows, Personas and references that appeared. If you have any questions about any of these things (or about the story in general), please let me know and I'll add them to my write-up, be you a guest or account holder! I've already got over 4000 words prepared, so at this point I'm more than willing to answer whatever you want to ask me too :P Go for it!
> 
> And as always, thank you so so SO much for all your support! Words can't describe how much it all means to me. Thank you so much, each and every one of you!
> 
> P.S. I updated the synopsis/ summary between chapters. Please let me know if you think it's a good fit too. Thank you again, everyone! :'D


	28. Chapter 27/ Appendix

**The Inspiration:**

_"Let's face it: we're never getting a follow-up to Kotone's fate in canon. Even if we get a P3 Remake, the best we'll see is her as a door. P5A or whatever other spin-offs we get will still follow Makoto Yuki's fate."_

This thought served as one of the main ideas behind this story. I really wanted to know what happened to Kotone, or more specifically, what _else_ could have happened to her instead of becoming the Great Seal as we know it...while also combining this with my naive wish from when PQ2 released that it'd find some way to incorporate her into the main timeline. In addition to this, I once saw a theory (I think on TV Tropes) about Kasumi becoming Kotone after dying. It was played for laughs, but it made me realise that the two did indeed have similarly optimistic, goofy personalities and that Kotone and Sumire would get along quite well as "sisters" just as Sumire and Kasumi did. And the more I thought about this idea, the more I wanted to explore it and the result of that thought is what you've just read. Kasumi and Kotone even have physical similarities too!

You may have already figured this out by now, but to those familiar with Persona 3 this is why the second half of this story is set-up similarly to The Answer, with Persona Users chasing after a shadowy version of someone and trying to find out what's going on around them. While the warping between floors was just a way to highight how warped Kotone's mind had become after eight years of isolation with the bonus of cutting down on the number of floors/ boss fights I had to depict (this is also why there's only one teleportation station in Tartartus - her memory of it is fragmented outside of the vague memories Hanako can piece together as she traverses it), it also turned out to be a neat parallel to all the teleporting around that happens in The Answer's dungeon, which I'm happy for. Not only did this serve to incorporate Kotone into the main timeline, it also served as an explanation for Theodore canonically being here as well despite not having a guest in this universe!

* * *

**Persona 3 Interlude:**

Though having said that, I realise I should explain P3 to those who haven't experienced it for themselves at this point. I wanted to hide all mentions of P3 from readers early on, but naturally that led to some feeling lost. My bad!

You may already be aware of Tartarus and the Door-kun memes, but once a month SEES also had to fight strong Shadows in the real world as well. These Personas are based on inversions of the first 12 Arcana (more on this later) and I used some of those strong Personas here as well, specifically those whose Arcana matched those of S.E.E.S.' Personas, which is what the Shadows turn into partway through their respective battles (Arcana Strength/ Cerberus is a slight exception, but I'll talk about them later too).

As for "Door-kun", that refers to Makoto giving up his life to create a barrier that keeps Nyx and Erebus apart - this part was explained by Lavenza and Theodore in the previous chapter. The Answer is an epilogue to the main P3 story (titled "The Journey") where S.E.E.S. are trapped in a time loop and a new dungeon appears beneath their dorms. It is here that - as described earlier - they chase after a shadowy version of their fallen friend before learning about Erebus and the nature of his sacrifice. They also resolve to one day save their friend and are the ones Lavenza refers to at the end when she mentions "like-minded" people. The sister she mentions is Elizabeth, who also strives to save Makoto one day.

P.S. While it isn't named explicitly, this story also features the Dark Hour. This is a hidden hour that begins right after midnight during which Tartarus and Shadows appear in P3, where the sky turns a sickly green and all technology that hasn't been modified to work during it (or is being possessed by a Shadow) will cease to function.

* * *

**The Inspiration (continued):**

As for this story, there was also a "FeMC as a Phantom Thief" artwork I found and fell in love with that served as motivation for it. As you would have noticed by now, this sadly didn't come to pass in the story itself as I wanted to both stay true to how Kotone's Persona abilities work and stress how different she is from the others, but I'll have a link to the picture at the bottom of this chapter nonetheless. You should check it out, it's very sleek!

The second half of the inspiration for this story is its "mechanical" crux, namely the idea of someone having two Palaces. I think there's actually enough evidence to justify it using the rules either implied or explicitly laid out in canon and wanted to play around with them. To be more precise, the evidence specifically comes from two sources. If you've come this far you either already know the story of Royal or don't care about spoilers, so here goes:

1\. Jose thinks the flowers in the Path of Da'at (the new Mementos area added in Royal) are "staticky" and says this is because they come from someone who isn't sure of themselves. Considering Maruki controls Mementos at this point, I took this to be an explanation for why he has both a Palace and a Persona: he is currently living as his "ideal," savior self who manifests as a Persona while trying to surpress his "real," traumatized self which became a Palace (this could also be taken as an explanation for why his journal and video tape memories spawn in what is otherwise a labratory and he even admits upon defeat that he was secretly afraid that Ren wouldn't accept his ideology - signs of his fears slipping through his facade). Incidentally, he actually commends Ren on unifying his "ideal and real selves" in their Rank 2 event, which is how P4 and 5 tell us Personas are formed in the first place.

2\. When Ryuji and Morgana are looking at Loki in the Thieves' Den, Morgana theorizes that Akechi gained two Personas because he was so invested in both his true and public selves that they manifested as two separate entities, i.e. he was so two-faced that it became literal. I actually wanted to write a story about him having a Palace at first - and may still do so in the future - but with everything else (especially the sisterhood idea) I decided I wanted to write about Kotone experiencing this duality instead. In this instance, her two faces are her two identities: Kotone and Hanako.

3\. (Bonus.) I'm confident in the above two, but P4AU also demonstrates that if a person and their Shadow are separated for long enough, they can each manifest a Persona, which I took to mean that two separate identities can form separate Personas/ Palaces too. In Hanako's case, her Shadow became Orpheus (as is the case with all of P4's and Futaba's Awakenings) and is why Orpheus appears to absorb Erebus and becomes more tangible as the battle progresses while Erebus gets weaker and weaker, while she gained Thanatos from her Universe Arcana - which is why the second Palace remains intact despite his arrival.

* * *

**The Palaces:**

Speaking of Palaces, here are the keywords for Hanako's and why I chose them:

Palace 1

Name: Hanako Yamada

Location: Hanako Yamada's home

Distortion: Oasis

Hanako's feels she doesn't deserve to engage with society, so her mind gives her an entire island to herself separated from the mainland by a body of water. But because she knows how destructive this mentality is, the island is completely empty and run down. This ideology is further cemented by the bridge: it's connected to the mainland because deep down she still craves her own connections with the outside world. Her desire keeps the bridge intact, but because of her self-loathing and the effort she puts into _not_ connecting with anyone, the trains refuse to run. But of course the reason her Palace manifests as Tatsumi Port Island and not a literal oasis or island paradise is due to Kotone's influence (if this were any old oasis/ island though, the "bridge" would be a land bridge running beneath a shallow stretch of water or the occasional empty row boat that washes up on shore before the waves take it away again).

Treasure: Herself

This is the same case as Futaba: Hanako's own self-defeating thoughts are the source of her distortion, so she's her own Treasure. The shock of Hanako and her Shadow felt at meeting each other for the first time led to both feeling a spike of fear and shame about themselves (after all, both were looking at the cause and result of their own suffering) and in turn caused the latter to snap and turn into a monster. Why the Shadow turned into Erebus specifically I'll delve into a little later.

Palace 2

Name: Kotone Shiomi

Location: Tartarus

Distortion: Great Seal

Kotone was in Tartarus when she sacrificed herself to seal Nyx away and did so willingly, so I felt she'd have a specific location in mind to associate with the act. Because she knows what she did to herself, her subconscious would naturally have a clear idea of what her own distortion is too.

Treasure: Nyx

Unlike Hanako who doesn't know who or what to blame for her predicament (which only serves to add more fuel to her self-loathing fire), as mentioned above Kotone knows exactly how she ended up where she did and who was responsible for it, so it's the one she "died" fighting that became her Treasure. Naturally once the dust settled she would realise Erebus was the true culprit, but at that point Nyx would have already been cemented as her Treasure. (Besides, in her mind Nyx is still a threat and the one she fought anyway, so I think she would hold onto her feelings about Nyx despite her revelation; mentally trying to swap Nyx and Erebus around would be dangerous, after all.)

But there are two reasons Nyx manifests as a mask. Firstly, Nyx's blank, smiling face is just so haunting that I imagined it would be seared into Kotone's memory as a respresentation of Nyx as a whole. Secondly, since Hanako and Kotone are two sides of the same person I felt the former's awe and respect for the Thieves would carry over to the latter (which is also why the figure at the top of Tartarus isn't surprised to see them as she disappears). Considering the masks are the most important part of a Thief's attire - since they look stylish, cover their faces and enable the use of their Personas - Hanako sees a mask as something that would let her be just like them as she wished she could be when they first started climbing Tartarus. After all, she loves being _with_ them and despite her age I think a small, childish part of her would always regret not being able to look like them too, even after Sumire and the others compliment her own attire and style.

* * *

**"Why did X of the Phantom Thieves not/ show up?"**

I originally wanted all the Phantom Thieves in this story, but the reasons I listed in my notes for Chapter 6 are what occured to me while plotting the story out for why Ann, Ryuji and Haru wouldn't be able to. Or at least, what was given there was the short version of my reasoning.

To be more specific, Ann wanted to focus on studying and modelling overseas, so it made sense to me that that's where she happened to be and naturally flying to another country isn't something that can be done easily. As for Haru, not only is she a college student, at the end of her Confidant she starts taking part in Okumura Foods' business meetings and gets serious about studying to open a cafe of her own, all of which I felt also made her too busy to make a trip on short notice. Ryuji's in a similar boat, considering he wanted to take Track seriously and moved away to do so: I felt he would be too far away and either busy with a meet or physiotherapy to make it to Ren's hometown on short notice.

As for the others: Futaba's still a high schooler and likely spends her days off with Sojiro, so her having the time to help out made the most sense. While Makoto's also in the same year as Haru, she's efficient and intelligent enough that it made sense to me that she'd have finished whatever homework she had for the break ASAP and thus have time to make the trip (she would have brought study materials with her, obviously and been upset that Futaba didn't). However, she would still try to take on as many additional tasks as possible because of her nature, which is why she's the one with the tightest deadline to return by. Finally, Yusuke: he stays in Tokyo at the end of Royal and while this doesn't mean he's still there for college, I feel he'd stick around - especially during holidays - for the art scene, especially if he gets his work displayed in more galleries. As such, not only would he have time to spare, he'd probably relish the opportunity to sketch the countryside and whatever new experiences Ren and the Metaverse have for him this time. (Also, I feel Yusuke is passionate and feels indebted enough to Ren that he'd drop everything and run to help him even if he _was_ pressed for time or money). That these three happened to be the ones following in their parental figures' footsteps (and the effect this has on Hanako's psyche) was just a coincidence at first but cemented these three as the right ones to use once I realised it.

Finally, the Scramble newcomers. While this story takes place after Scramble (and is the third time the Thieves saved the world that Morgana mentions in the last chapter)...I simply don't know enough about them to know if they'd be here, nor would I want to write about them without experiencing Scramble for myself. To be honest I don't even know if Scramble _has_ a "save the world" plot, but considering every Persona story becomes one in the end I think it's a safe bet :P Besides, I think one of the Scramble Thieves already has a job, so that outs them immediately. No P5S spoilers in the comments, please!

All in all, the full party would have been fun to have, but I just couldn't justify it without it feeling contrived. I think it worked out for the best for me as a writer that the cast stayed fairly small though, so I'm thankful for that.

P.S. Speaking of original plans, Tatsumi Port Island was originally going to remain once Hanako's heart was stolen and the Thieves would split up: one group would go back around the island to see if anything changed while the other would climb Tartarus. I decided against it because I didn't think exploring the island again would be interesting (and it would be unfair if I skipped those scenes and just said "here's what the Island team discovered!" at the end) and it also made more sense for the island to collapse per P5's rules (the island and Tartarus are two distinct Palaces, after all).

On top of all that, the other Thieves having a deadline was the biggest reason this didn't happen. But considering they managed to steal the first Treasure at the end of Golden Week, I'm glad things worked so that they still had a triumphant and graceful way to leave the story (which is also something I felt running through Ren's mind when he decided to keep the second Palace a secret from them). In fact, Futaba helping Ren and Sumire with their Showtime was adapted from an idea I had for the original version of the second act of the story. Maybe I'll use said idea in full someday.

* * *

**Ren's Personas:**

Ren has 12 Personas, which is the limit with the maxed out Fool Confidant. Each one serves a specific purpose with the exception of Thor, whose Electricity powers are weaker than Odin's but makes up for it with access to God's Hand. In addition to the moves listed below Ren also uses Personas with a particular affinity to block attacks of those same affinities (e.g. using Thor to both use and block Electricity):

Fafnir - Nuclear attacks, tanking Physical attacks, drawing aggro with Attract* and using Gigantomachia.

Thor - Electricity attacks (Ziodyne, Maziodyne) and God's Hand.

Odin - Dedicated Electricity Persona: Thunder Reign, Wild Thunder.

Zaou-Gongen - Fire: Inferno, Blazing Hell.

Norn - Wind: Vacuum Wave, Panta Rhei.

Black Frost - Ice: Ice Age, Diamond Dust.

Arsene - Curse. _Ren was too modest to devote the energy needed to removing his own weaknesses, which backfires in the fight against Nyx and Messiah:_ Eigaon, Brave Blade (as allusions to P5's Prologue), Endure (which he uses as a quick way to defend himself from Bless attacks. This is what saves him from the Hamaon in Chapter 19).

Vohu Manah - Bless. _As mentioned during the fight with Cerberus, Ren put some extra attention into this Persona to remove its Wind weakness, as a show of respect towards Maruki:_ Kougaon, Makougaon, Drain Wind.

Shiva - Psychic: Psycho Force, Psycho Blast.

Maria - Healing. _It isn't brought up, but Ren also removed Maria's Fire weakness to honor Sumire:_ Holy Benevolence, Mediarahan, Salvation, Drain Fire. (For those interested, I subscribe to the headcanon that "revival" spells only work on people who have been knocked out, not outright killed. On top of their immense fatigue during the battle with Nyx, this is why the Thieves are so distraught by Hanako's death as Ren alludes to when considering their options in Chapter 25.)

Rangda - Support and -karn barriers. _Ren removed her weaknesses so she could better fit her role as a supportive Persona._

Attis - Buffing via Thermopylae/ Vitality of the Tree.

Yoshitsune - _Ren had access to Yoshitsune at first, but considering the gauntlet of battles in the first half of Tartarus swapped him out for Rangda "off-screen" before their second visit to it, both to better protect his team and also to conserve his strength given they had no idea how long they would need to fight and Yoshitsune feeds off of his physical health_ ** _:_ Hassou Tobi.

* Attract (and Conceal, which has the opposite effect) is only available as a Fusion Mutation, which Ren alludes to during the fight with the Jotuns of Grief.

** While Ren didn't reclaim Yoshitsune because he didn't anticipate such an intense encounter atop Tartarus, the prolonged nature of the battle made his absence a blessing in disguise given the aforementioned high cost of his abilities.

* * *

**The other Thieves' Personas:**

Sumire/ Ella: Kouagaon, Makougaon, Masquerade, Swords Dance, Vorpal Blade, Ali Dance, Evade Curse, Arms Master (hence her able to use so many attacks in the final battle).

Morgana/ Diego: Garudyne, Magarudyne, Miracle Rush, Mediarahan, Evade Elec.

Makoto/ Agnes: Atomic Flare, Mafreidyne, Debilitate, Spell Master, Evade Psy (unused).

Yusuke/ Gorokichi: Bufudyne, Brave Blade, Vorpal Blade, Evade Fire.

Hanako:

Orpheus: Agidyne, Maragidyne, Bash (from P3), Neo Cadenza, Tarunda.

Thanatos: Door of Hades.

* * *

**Shadows Encountered:**

NB: Persona 3 divides Physical Skills into three further categories: Strike, Slash and Pierce. Ren, Morgana, Yusuke and Hanako's bladed weapons are treated as Slashing ones, Makoto's fists are Strike weapons and Sumire's weapons and everyone's guns round out the trio by dealing Piercing damage. The Shadows encountered will be divided into those met outside Tartarus and inside it.

Outside Tartarus:

Cowardly Maya: Weak to Fire, Elec and Wind.

Scarlet Turret: Weak to Elec, Resists Fire, Immune to Strike and Repels Slash attacks.

Arcane Turret: Never fought, but seen in Chapter 8.

Killer Drive: Never fought, but seen in Chapter 8.

Muttering Tiaras (spawned by Arcana Priestess): Weak to Ice, Immune to Fire, Bless and Curse.

Lucia (Fuuka's Navigator Persona) can't fight, so I instead treated her Analysis ability as a feeble attempt to read and disorient the Thieves' minds once they fought through her hordes and Arcana form. Futaba's correct in her assumption that compared to the other boss fights, this one was a zerg rush to compensate for Lucia's combat deficiency. The act of travelling up a train and fighting along the way is identical to how Arcana Priestess (her Shadow form) is fought, though in that battle the train is still running.

Arcana Magician is never fought, so I decided to make him neutral to all attack types and turn defeating him into a puzzle instead of purely a show of strength (as was his fate in P3). The other Arcana Shadows have their original strengths and weaknesses from Persona 3, with a slight exception for Arcanas Emperor and Empress: originally their affinities which switch periodically as this was meant to be a tutorial for using Fuuka's analytical abilities. Since there's no need for that here, the two stick with their original affinities.

Inside Tartarus:

The Thieves warp up to different sections of Tartarus after certain floors (where they fight the min-bosses), so I wanted to list which floors they covered here as well. The Shadows in each section of Tartarus in this story are also Shadows found there in P3 with their original moves, strengths and weaknesses (including the aforementioned mini-bosses who show up on the same floors as in P3), except two that use their Persona Q2 stats instead for variety's sake.

**Thebel**

Floors traversed: 2 to 5.

Encountered:

Cowardly Maya: Same as above.

Magic Hand: Weak to Fire, Resists to Ice.

Boss: Venus Eagle: Immune to Pierce, Drains Fire, Immune to Wind, Bless and Curse.

**Arqa**

Floors traversed: 25 to 36.

Encountered:

Venus Eagle: Weak to Ice, Resists Fire and Wind.

Dancing Hand: Weak to Fire, Immune to Ice.

Boss: Change Relic (Q2): Weak to Wind, Resists Ice, Elec, Nuclear and Curse.

**Yabbashah**

Floors traversed: 85 to 98. There is a section break on floor 89, where the first Will Seed is found.

Section 1:

Avenger Knight: Weak to Bless, Immune to Slash.

Ardent Dancer: Weak to Curse, Resists Strike.

Section 2:

Phantom Lord: Weak to Bless, Repels Curse, Immune to Fire.

Mind Dice: Weak to Elec, Resists Fire, Ice and Wind.

Boss: Magical Magus: Weak to Fire, Resists all Phys, Drains Ice, Immune to Bless and Curse.

**Tziah**

Floors traversed: 146 to 160. The Will Seed and Teleport Station are guarded by the Shadow on floor 160. Only the second section of Tziah is covered.

Liberating Idol: Weak to Ice, Immune to Fire, Repels Wind.

Death Seeker: Weak to Bless, Resists Fire, Repels Curse.

Mighty Cyclops: Weak to Fire, Drains Ice.

Boss: Mythical Gigas: Resists Slash, Repels Strike, Immune to Pierce, Bless and Curse, Drains Fire.

**Harabah**

Floors traversed: 171 to 190. There are two bosses - one on floor 180 and one on 190.

Apostate Tower: Weak to Fire, Resists Ice, Drains Elec.

Boss 1: Stasis Giant: Resists Strike, Pierce, Fire, Wind, Immune to Slash, Bless and Curse.

Power Castle: Weak to Wind, Resists Fire, Immune to Elec.

Scarlet Turret: Same as the above.

Boss 2: Phantom King: slightly Weak to Slash, slightly Resists all Elements*, Immune to Bless and Curse. *Specfically, he takes 25% more or less damage to these attacks respectively.

**Adamah**

Floors traversed: 236 to 263. Bosses are fought on floors 244 and 252. The Will Seed is found on floor 263, directly beneath the roof (floor 264) where S.E.E.S. originally a breather right before the final battle against Nyx in P3.

Amenti Raven: Weak to Elec, Resists Wind, Repels Fire.

Minotaur 1 (grey): Weak to Fire and Curse, Resists Phys, Repels Bless.

Boss 1: Fierce Cyclops: Resists Slash, Strike, Fire, Immune to Elec, Bless and Curse.

Minotaur 2 (Q2, red and yellow): Weak to Bless and Nuke, Resists Fire, Ice, Elec and Wind.

Boss 2: Jotun of Grief: Drains Slash, Strike, Fire, Ice, Elec and Wind, Immune to Bless and Curse.

(P.S. Those who follow me on Patreon will have seen these Shadow listings before as part of my behind the scenes posts there. I hope the deja vu's okay for you!)

* * *

**The Arcana Shadows' Drops:**

The items the Arcana Shadows/ S.E.E.S. Personas drop are all Kotone's accessories as you may have already guessed. In order, they are:

\- The Plume of Dusk dropped by Koromaru's Cerberus (the item that powers the Evoker and Aigis, as well as the energy source used in Mitsuru's bike and all other technology that functions in the Dark Hour). This is the crystal substance Ren spots when Hanako's Evoker breaks in the penultimate chapter in my mind, but feel free to draw your own conclusions here if you wish.

\- Kotone's Sony Walkman, dropped by the tank (Ken's Nemesis and Aigis' Palladion).

\- Her Ribbon, found in the love hotel after defeating Yukari's Io (defeated by Makoto and Yusuke) and Castor (defeated by Ren and Sumire).

\- Her hairclips found at the school (representing Akihiko's Polydeuces and Mitsuru's Penthesilea). I felt these were important because she wears them in the shape of the Roman numeral "XXII" (22), another number for the Fool and thus an indicator of her identity.

\- Her headphones as found on the train after Fuuka's Lucia is defeated.

\- The shell of an Evoker as granted by Junpei's Hermes. The Plume fuels it and the other items are stored inside it until Hanako reawakens, at which point they're returned to her alongside her S.E.E.S. armband as a declaration: " _She's back._ " She earns the armband as it represents her ability to use a Persona and willingness to fight the supernatural (i.e. the criteria required to join the group) but it remains blank because she doesn't still doesn't remember the Squad or its members yet.

* * *

**An Aside about S.E.E.S.' Personas:**

Considering Hanako comes from after the events of Persona 3, you may be curious why only S.E.E.S.' first-tier Personas appear. There are a few reasons for this.

The first was to establish a sense of parity, considering Cerberus and Castor have no evolutions and Hanako herself only awakens to her own first-tier Persona, but I believe this also extends to an emotional "fairness" too: after all, Hanako herself is broken during this story (as much as it hurts to call attention to it) and it felt cruel to surround her with the forms her friends' other selves took after they'd cemented their own wills or overcome their personal grievances. I wanted to make an exception for Aigis considering how close the two were (and because Athena is her more iconic Persona), but it felt disrespectful (for lack of a better word) to imply an imitation of Aigis (Arcana Chariot) could skip directly to the form her mind took once she had found her own reason to live.

The second reason is also related to this idea of their first-tier Personas not yet being mature. While Kotone has a clear influence on Hanako's Palace, the influence itself comes from stray impulses emanating from her psyche into Hanako's. As such, while Hanako's subconscious has a sense that there are some _things_ in her past that were precious to her, she can't form a clear picture of what (or in this case, who) they are, which is represented by the Personas appearing as they once were instead of exactly how Kotone remembers them.

* * *

**Bonus Background Material/ Reasonings:**

Some quickfire facts about the story. These are a mix of behind the scenes information and small details I couldn't work into the narrative in roughly chronological order:

\- Ren's static shock when shaking Hanako's hand in the Prologue is because he sensed the Universe within Hanako, with the headcanon that having the Wild Card makes him more sensitive to such otherworldly things. Of course Morgana is also hyper sensitive to the supernatural as well and it's this raw power emanating from her that also freaks him out later. Their subconscious minds adapted to this energy and filtered them out of their perceptions after their first contact with it though, which is why they don't react to her afterwards.

\- As mentioned before, the Shadows in the Palace as the Arcana Shadows from P3 who then turn into SEES' Personas after a brief scuffle. However, Arcana Strength shifts immediately. This is due to it representing the opposite of Strength (also mentioned above) - in other words, it's a coward. In the original boss fight this was represented by it fighting alongside Arcana Fortune who protected it, but with no bodyguard in sight this time around it calls it quits as soon as the battle begins and shifts into Cerberus (coincidentally, Fortune also took the form of a dog).

\- Speaking of the Arcana Shadows, they are encountered in reverse order here (thus fighting Strength first and ending with Magician), which served to bring the Thieves closer and closer to the truth about Hanako. While most are fought in their original locations, this isn't the case for Justice and Chariot (the two-part tank) because they were originally fought in a secret bunker. I couldn't find a reason for the Thieves to stumble into it (because it's location is kept secret from us as well), so I instead rationalised that they were notified of a disturbance after the Thieves' scuffle with the Scarlet Turrets and came outside to investigate themselves.

\- Incidentally, this also means the Thieves' reasoning for why the major Shadows appear where they do (i.e. that they're in places important to Hanako's past self) is wrong, but I still liked that Ren could figure out where the Magician would be despite their flawed logic. Of course this also means everyone thought Hanako went to a love hotel as a teenager until her "I'm still a maiden" joke.

\- Igor never appears in this story despite Ren entering the Velvet Room in his dream. While this is indeed due to Lavenza calling him for a private request, prior precedence for an Igor-less Velvet Room was set by Scramble, which also features the Velvet Room without him in it (the real world reason for this is the passing of Igor's Japanese VA, which is why his role in the series has diminished since P4 and his lines after it have all been recycled from his earlier appearances).

\- I tried to imply this in Chapter 6, but the Shadows patrolling the island do so in squads. The defeat of Nemesis and Palladion (aka Arcana Justice and Chariot) leaves that area devoid of leadership and so the Shadows normally patrolling it wander off and stay clear of it, which is why that area is safe while others still have guards. It's a bit like clearing outposts in a video game, now that I think about it. (The same holds true for other locations where the Arcana Shadows were fought as well, such as Arcana Strength at the train station.)

\- Hanako getting along well with the Thieves is due to her past life as a Wild Card. As with Ren, she's good at understanding and sympathising with the people around her, though unlike him she does it unconsciously. Similarly, her being a fast learner in the Metaverse (both in terms of fighting and understanding how everything about it works) is due to her time as field leader of S.E.E.S., though I think this last part goes without saying - especially considering at least one person has picked up on this already.

\- On a similar note, Hanako's skills are those she already had or picked up as Kotone: her cooking skills are a reference to her Social Link with Fuuka while her knitting skills are a reference to Bebe's SL. In addition, she feels comfortable around animals because of her time with Koromaru. While Makoto Yuki's the one who spends his Sundays playing games, I think she'd be into them as well, especially if someone in S.E.E.S. invited her to play with them (namely Junpei or Fuuka).

\- Hanako's Shadow doesn't know where her Treasure is because of Hanako's cognition that her amnesia makes her useless, which manifests by making her Shadow forget things other Shadows would know by default...thus making _her_ both amnesiac and "useless" too. Futaba's Shadow experiences something similar, though instead of feeling useless her fear of others and guilt over her mother makes her confused and repeatedly lead the Thieves into death traps.

\- Considering her UI in P3P, I imagine Kotone/ Hanako's favourite colour is light pink, which gives her another point of comparison with Sumire and her own deep pink (according to her SNS icon), hence the duo's additional bonding over Sumire's new scarf.

\- Hanako's Palace is chillier than the real world despite it being Spring as noted when the Thieves go there at night. This is both due to it being a island city (thus cooled by the sea) and because its own climate is locked to what it was in January, when Kotone formed the Great Seal.

\- While we never get to see her use it, Hanako stealing Mitsuru's bike (which Ren saw parked by the train station in Chapter 2) and riding to the rescue on it is a reference to the first P3 movie, where Makoto did the same. I loved that scene, so it was another moment I really wanted Kotone to have too.

\- The reason Orpheus's healing has such a profound effect on the Thieves? As anyone who's gotten Royal's DLC will confirm, Neo Cadenza is love. Neo Cadenza is life.

\- While the idea of Sumire asking for a piggyback ride because she guessed the Thieves needed to enter Hanako's Palace at midnight is my own, her reasoning for it (that she was unconscious for the first one Ren gave her) was inspired by A Royalty-free Rerun, where she also receives a second piggyback ride and decides to milk it for all its worth.

\- While Hanako chooses her Tartarus outfit because it's one of her favourites and because she wants to match Ren and Sumire's looks (which also ties into her wishing she were a Thief as stated earlier), you probably already figured out that it's just an adult version of her school uniform, minus the white stripes of her shirt and S.E.E.S. armband. (P.S. The potential names the Thieves throw around for her are the names I was toying with too - on top of her codenames in Q2.)

\- Hanako can use her Evoker as a gun because she is altering her own cognition slightly, another similarity she shares with Futaba who can hack into her own Palace. To clarify, its gun form is the Ruger Standard Mk III (what the Evokers are based off of). I'd have liked to specify this in the story, but sadly Ren isn't enough of a gun nut to identify them right away. (Should've trained him better, Iwai!) Anyway, here's the tail end of a Wikipedia article for you to find out more for yourselves if you're interested! wiki/Ruger_Standard#MK_III

\- Ren's spinning slash attack against the large Venus Eagle (the first boss they face in Tartarus) is a reference to the spinning slash he does at the start of his Showtime with Akechi. The spinning slash shows up later as well, for example against the Jotuns of Grief and Messiah.

\- Going back to Kotone, the idea of Sumire writing a calling card for her probably came from the story "Take Care, Senpai" by flaminmellows on AO3 (link at the bottom of the chapter). I upped the cuteness factor though, simply because I thought it would be in-character for her to be as polite as possible even when writing and...well, because it was cute! I already attributed the first calling card of the story to Vellaen, but he's also the reason for Sumire successfully giving a calling card to a Shadow (or at least what everyone thought was a Shadow at the time). He really opened my eyes to the possibility of calling cards being delivered in all sorts of different ways, not just as physical cards (or broadcasts, as in Shido's case).

\- Thanatos taking a moment to crush Messiah's arm is another movie reference, as this is its finishing touch when defeating Arcana Magician. This is followed by Thanatos crushing Messiah's head as a more accurate reference (due to it being the actual finishing move of this fight). However, I wanted to use this second act to showcase Hanako's mindset (or at least that of her subconscious) so chose to focus more on Messiah and Thanatos at that moment, and the emotions Ren thought he was seeing in them. Which set of friends her unconscious self is thinking of at the time, or if she's recalling both, is up to you to decide.

\- I’ll talk about Thanatos later, but part of the reason I chose him is because he’s Kotone’s other “first-tier” Persona (even if he’s tied to Pharos after his first appearance) and liked the idea of him defeating his evolved form purely due to the sheer strength of Hanako’s protective instincts.

\- Ren has an ironclad resolve, but I felt it would be shaken at the thought of the Thieves undeniably failing. This is why he literally Throws Away His Mask as he realises they won’t be able to steal the final Treasure before the calling card’s effect fades, only to reclaim it once Sumire shows her own resolve is still burning strong. Speaking of Sumire...

\- ...you may have already noticed, but Sumire tossing her rapier in the air before throwing it at a target is a reference to her doing the same in the Casino. I liked that she’s precise in all things, not just gymnastics, and wanted to convey that. She’s quite the multi-talented individual!

\- While the story was in my head a few days before I jotted it down, my final notes span three months (or 90 days to be exact) and 89 and a half pages, or exactly 49 for just the notes themselves (the rest are deleted or altered scenes). This isn't related to the story per se, but I thought it may interest you as a little bonus detail.

* * *

**Kotone, Erebus and Nyx:**

My interpretation of Kotone, Erebus and Nyx's situation. There's a lot here, much more than just a list of "small facts", so if you'd rather accept your own headcanon for this by all means feel free to skip to the next section ("Shout-outs"). What follows is my reasoning behind Lavenza and Theodore's explanation in the final chapter:

Nyx was kept locked up as a Treasure in Kotone's Palace while Erebus was scattered throughout it. However, a part of Erebus was drawn to Hanako's grief (which was already fueling it and this world's Erebus) and thus was able to slip into her Palace once it formed. This prolonged exposure is why Hanako's Shadow took on Erebus' form and possessed a portion of his strength. Despite Erebus leaking through into her other self however, Kotone was still able to keep it and Nyx in check - both Palaces are technically still her own cognition after all, even if one of them had a direct effect on Hanako and the other didn't - and upon the island's destruction this piece of Erebus fled back into Tartarus and tried to find its other fragments. (For the record, Kotone's cognition is that Tartarus can only exist in the Dark Hour, which is why it only appears at midnight in the Oasis and the time is permanently locked to the Dark Hour in her own Palace.)

However, the mere act of others entering the Palace during the Dark Hour shocked Kotone's psyche, destabilizing her mental grip on Nyx just enough for part of her Treasure to break off and latch onto her. This is why she appears as a black silhouette and just stares at the rest of the Treasure - Nyx is longing to reunite with herself (though this was also influenced by my wanting this to be Kotone's version of The Answer, as mentioned before). Once the calling card materializes the Treasure and she puts it on, Nyx takes near-complete control over Kotone and regains some of her own power, though Kotone does her best to fight back from within - hence the Thieves only fighting "a fragment of her fragment". As for Kotone herself, though it was weakened due to her not having full access to her mental faculties, she had been able to manifest Messiah as a bodyguard of sorts to serve her in Tartarus...but when Nyx took control of her she was able to corrupt and use Messiah for herself instead.

When Hanako unconsciously tapped into a portion of the Universe Arcana's energy from inside Kotone, she gained the power (channelled through Thanatos' Door of Hades) to sever Nyx's control over Messiah (the thread connecting them) and thus was able to destroy its current corrupted form. Because Nyx is in control of Kotone's mind at the time, the death of her host's other self and remaining friend damages her cognition instead of her host's and she is defeated. Because both Nyx and Erebus "die" by breaking apart and scattering to all corners of the world, this means she's forced to leave Kotone and the latter is able to take control of herself (and Messiah) once more.

Incidentally, this is how Theodore was able to seal both Nyx and Erebus within her: as the Answer shows, Erebus was waiting close by during Nyx's descent. Nyx broke apart upon her defeat and the force of this also damaged Erebus; Theodore simply took the opportunity to "pluck" a fragment of each as they scattered around him. You may have noticed that "the world" in the current situation is just Kotone's version of Tartarus, but this still gives her enough time to regain her and Messiah's strength so she can return to fighting the two entities off again. While other Shadows will also remain in Tartarus and are hostile to her as Futaba's were (unlike in Maruki's Palace), she and Messiah are so powerful that they are complete non-issues.

Returning to the matter of Kotone's possession though, since the Treasure can never again form due to the calling card failing, Nyx can never again manifest as something tangible that can be exploited as it was. Instead, she's cursed to wander Tartarus like Erebus and the other Shadows in her Avatar state for Kotone to fight off in regular encounters, which is why Theodore says she can't be possessed again. While Kotone is indeed destined to spend the foreseeable future fighting Nyx and Erebus over and over again, these encounters will simply be "ordinary" shows of strength. She can't be caught off-guard again, especially now that the Thieves know not to enter her Palace anymore (though as the Velvet duo explain, once the three entities regain their strength their mere presence will make the Palace too dangerous to step in anyway, like an instantly fatal aura of radiation).

Because no one will ever witness this fighting in person though, this infinite battle will continue to play out in the "background" of reality, never to be witnesses by human or supernatural eyes.

The bottom line/ tl;dr is simply that, while the Thieves are at fault for Kotone being possessed, they're also the reason she can no longer be possessed the same way in the future, though she still has to fight.

However, because she needs the full Universe Arcana to do so, Hanako will no longer be able to use it herself (though others will be able to detect a faint hint of it as Ren and Morgana did). But while she can't use the Universe, Hanako still has access to Thanatos and the Wild Card (something she always had, but simply never knew she did, like how Ren didn't know he had one until he recruited Pixie by accident).

I know the ending is bittersweet at best and a downer at worst, but I wanted to capture the same feeling as the original The Answer, which itself has a tragic ending with a sense of hope as S.E.E.S. resolve to save the world and in turn their friend (another sentiment I wanted Kotone to receive as well), while also justifying why Elizabeth wouldn't just copy Theodore's idea once she found out about it since, depending on how you look at it, Kotone's situation could be _worse_ than Makoto's. (And while this may sound hollow considering the supernatural nature of the story and the fact that there is a possibility of a happy ending, albeit an incredibly slim one, I also didn't want Hanako to regain her memories at the end because I wanted to respect real amnesiacs with this story, whose memories sadly don't return after a heroic adventure or two.) I apologise to those looking forward to a sequel, but this is the story I want to tell for now. I may write a happier ending in the future, but the reason I haven't already is because I don't want to cheapen Kotone's sacrifice for the above reason. If she's ever freed, she and the Thieves need to _earn_ it, considering the sheer scope of what they're up against. If Makoto Yuki is ever saved though, I'd gladly write a story adapting his rescue to Kotone as well - unless I'm inspired to write a solution of my own, but just thinking about it intimidates me. After all, there's no specific enemy to defeat for either Kotone or Makoto: they willingly sacrificed themselves to save humanity _from itself_.

Ultimately, the distinction between the two P3 Heroes is that, where Makoto's friends need to save the world to bring _him_ back to life, Hanako's friends need to save the world to bring her _original self_ back to life. But as I just mentioned, while this seems better on the surface, it brings with it deeper implications in the long term than Makoto's situation and thoughts that may even scare Hanako if she ever regains her memories; thoughts such as "Which world do I belong to?", "Which world do I _want_ to belong to?" and even more fundamental questions like "Who am I?"

With that established, here is the final set of Shadow information and quickfire details:

* * *

**Shadows Encountered:**

Above Tartarus

**Peak/ Floor 264**

"The Shadow Girl" aka Nyx-possessed Kotone Shiomi: Immune to all Physical and Magical Elements, except Universe-tier Almighty attacks.

Own Moveset: Power Charge, Mind Charge (P3's version of Charge and Concentrate, respectively), Dekaja (new for this story), Dekunda, Tarukaja, Marakunda, Moonless Gown.

Moves used through Messiah: All -dyne and Ma-dyne Skills, Night Queen (only used when Messiah's health is low, as was the case with Nyx herself in her own battle in P3).

Messiah: Weak to Curse, Repels Bless, Resists all other magical Elements.

Moveset: Megidolaon, Oratorio, Agneyastra, God's Hand, Firm Stance.

* * *

**Bonus Background Material/ Reasonings:**

\- The Will Seeds form the Crystal of Apathy due to Kotone putting on a brave face regarding her situation (thus forcing herself to be apathetic about her own fate). However, the rooms are silent due to Nyx possessing her during the infiltration: after all, "the dead tell no tales". Considering its ties to both Kotone and Nyx, you may have an idea of what the Crystal actually does, but I'll leave it up to you to decide if it really had a function or not.

\- As an aside, even though the Palace remaining intact means Jose can't improve it...there's nothing for him to improve even if he could. Whether it has a function or not, I feel this is another indicator of just how powerful and reality-changing Kotone and Nyx's powers are. Even something taken from their Palace is too strong for him to affect, let alone improve.

\- Speaking of the Will Seeds though, Ren's right that the warped nature of the Palace also messed with them, which is why it's the second Seed that has a guardian and the third does not.

\- When Kotone is fully consumed by Nyx, her pseudo-Thief attire is Nyx Avatar's, though because she stays on the ground it appears more like a traditional dress with a wide, floor-length skirt. The mask stays on both because of how deeply its embedded into her subconscious, but also as an allusion to Maruki who also has godlike strength. I believe this is why he is able to permanently manifest both his mask and Persona and with Nyx being arguably the strongest entity in the Persona universe, naturally she and Kotone can do the same.

\- Kotone/ Nyx points to the sky whenever she uses one of her stronger powers as this is how the former created the Great Seal: naturally this gesture became quite significant to the both of them as a result. Messiah also does this for the same reason, but as a bonus this is exactly how Messiah uses support/ healing moves in P5 too, so everything worked out better than I could have hoped.

\- Speaking of, I made Messiah's hair longer to better fit Kotone, though this is only alluded to a few times. I naturally wanted to give Kotone her strongest possible Persona to use here, but as another whim of fate Messiah was chosen as her Ultimate Persona in Q2 too (Makoto gets Orpheus Telos instead). Yet another thing that worked out better than I could have hoped!

\- Returning to Thanatos’ brutality, I believe he is ruthless by his very nature (even without Death’s influence). This is why Hanako’s subconscious mind called on him: it knew that that side of her (with aid from The Universe she’d momentarily connected to) was necessary to win the final battle.

* * *

**Fanfic Shout-outs:**

These are all stories I've really enjoyed over these last two months, with some that have even had a direct impact on the way I write! This is by no means a conclusive list and I'm sure I'll be kicking myself for forgetting something as soon as it goes live, but for now and in no particular order:

From ArchiveOfOurOwn

A Dance Made For Two by TemporalLegend: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24786889 - an alternate take on the third semester with a much deeper dive into Sumire's psyche. A bit grim at times, but well worth the read if you can stomach it.

A Lifelong Fan in Me by some1upoyo: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25433350 - all of their works qualify, but this is their main story right now. Phantom Memories' primary author is MushroomFusion.

Everything by Superswaggykitty: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Superswaggykitty/pseuds/Superswaggykitty - their stories so far are all one-shots, but they're super adorable and worth checking out.

Everything by Light1108: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Light1108/pseuds/Light1108 - they've written a ton of Shusumi goodness with plans to write even more. As with Superswaggykitty above, they're also super fluffy.

Let's Play Phantom TV! by ProjectMarbles: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24624976 - a story featuring the casts of P3 to 5 without supernatural elements, with a big emphasis on Shusumi fluff.

Identity Thief by intenzity9: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25244140 - another powerless take on the Phantom Thieves, though this one is much more mature. Avert your eyes, kids!

Joker on Ice by SunsetHours: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24013726 - a very sweet story set in Ren and Sumire's future.

Everything by Eggsumi: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eggsumi/pseuds/Eggsumi - this includes the aforementioned Royalty-free Rerun. They appear to be on a hiatus at the moment, but their work is still worth reading!

Lotus, Violet and Cherry Blossoms by Deathmanstratos: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24211450 - there's a bit of angst early on during the retelling of Semester 3, but the remainder of this story is 40+ chapters of pure fluff in Sumire and Ren's future with no end in sight.

Echo of the Forgotten by MrzGrumpy: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24981250/chapters/60478747 - a Sumi-centric retelling of Royal with some deviations from canon in later chapters.

Enduring Faith by pichumaster101: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24093175/chapters/57992623 - another Sumi-centric retelling that completed last week.

P5: Crimson by AppleseedsWorks: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24687169/chapters/59661310 - a story set a few months after Royal and explores some neat ideas. This ended earlier this month and left me feeling both satisfied and wanting more.

Monophobia by driftshade1: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24780412/chapters/59921896 - another retelling with canon divergences. This one places equal focus on Ren and Sumire throughout.

Red Violets by Mirrored Apparition: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24334624/chapters/58674187 - another deviating retelling, with an emphasis on Sumi's feelings and relationships with both Ren and Akechi.

Recollections of Your Heart by whenyouwriteinbed: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23855620/chapters/57335611 - one of the first stories I read! There's a good mix of fluff and comedy here along with two supplemental series being written alongside it.

Everything by Dev0ted: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dev0ted/pseuds/Dev0ted - a good author in their own right and one who hit the ground running with their first ever story, The Wish for Control.

The Future After Royal by MonkKind: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23806528/chapters/57196321 - another future story with an emphasis on fluff. What else is there to say? And a story that recently came out of hiatus to boot!

Royal Rivals: The Quartet by ShrugFace: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24695260/chapters/59683288 - as with some1, all of their stories are worth reading, but this is their current project right now.

Retribution of the Trickster by Asphaow: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24405181/chapters/58872412

Rig the Game: Royal by Hawkright and some1upoyo: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23699164/chapters/56901121

\- both are NG+ stories with an early appearance from Sumire and both are long runners and fun to read through. And as with all these stories, both are highly recommended!

From Fanfiction.net

Faith in a Fool by RRM2500: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13593665/1/FAITH-IN-A-FOOL - a slice-of-life (so far) retelling of Royal without the supernatural stuff.

The True Duet by asdf1asdf1: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13575424/1/The-True-Duet - there are many "Kasumi lives" stories out there, but this one takes a deeper look at the relationship between the twins and their respective strengths and weaknesses. Another of the earliest Shusumi stories I've read!

**Stories/ Authors that influenced this one:**

All of these are from ArchiveOfOurOwn/ AO3 and either influenced certain scenes or, in the latter case, my writing style. This list starts with two stories that influenced smaller moments:

\- Royalty-free Rerun by Eggsumi, which influenced the aforementioned piggyback ride.

\- Violet Royale by ShrugFace, which inspired the brick joke between Chapters 3 and 5.

\- Take Care, Senpai by flaminmellows: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25032433/chapters/60621355 - the possible inspiration for Sumire's calling card, as mentioned before. A short and very sweet two-shot set during Ren's last day in Tokyo.

\- Masquerade by Vellaen: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24223858 - I've namedropped Vellaen twice in this story already, but I can't stress enough how amazing Masquerade is. It's only 8.5 chapters long, but is another excellent deep dive into Sumire's mindset and follows a very intriguing what-if scenario that could easily fit as an alternate route in P5 canon.

\- Life Will Change by AkaneMinori: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24846847 - one of the other "big stories" here, considering the insane word count for a story still retelling the events of April as of my writing this. The incredible attention to detail is what prompted me to delay and rewrite my last few chapters to make them better, as mentioned at the end of Chapter 22.

* * *

**Other Links:**

The aforementioned Thief Kotone picture: https://www.reddit.com/r/Persona5/comments/g7y46w/oc_i_drew_femc_as_a_phantom_thief/

A second "Kotone as a Phantom Thief" picture released after I began work on this story. With an arguably better codename for her too! https://www.reddit.com/r/ChurchOfFeMC/comments/ihmiwz/phantom_thief_femc_doodles/

* * *

I've said this before and I'll say it again, thank you all so so _so_ much for supporting me on this journey! All your kind words, feedback, theorising, kudos, bookmarks...it all means more to me than I can possibly say, thank you so much for it all! I wish everyone reading this the best in everything. I hope to write a smaller Shusumi story after a small break and I hope you enjoy that too. Thank you again everyone! Take care and please let me know if you have further questions, comments or feedback for me, I'd love to hear it as I do everything you have for me, thank you!

And lest we forget, happy 6-month anniversary to Persona 5 Royal (and Sumi's debut)!


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